I really agree with this post. Hackathons can be used as a great way of energizing, educating, and building a community of passionate, motivated hackers. I'm r

I really agree with this post. Hackathons can be used as a great way of energizing, educating, and building a community of passionate, motivated hackers. I'm really interested in using this force to build the next generation of technologists, and we're currently doing this via an event called CodeDay. High school / college students are always busy -- they have tests, homework assignments, jobs, and other things that prevent them from spending time on the things they want to do. A hackathon provides these students an opportunity to focus, and for the students that are learning some tech on the side to actually create something. At the same time, beginners who are interested in technology get started and feel empowered to start learning and experimenting in their own time. They all become friends, and create amazing things. Through CodeDay, * A High School student made $20,000+ building an android app he thought would be useful called Sidebar Pro: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=mohammad.adib.sidebar https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=mohammad.adib.... * High school students made a replica of Leap Motion's capture device: http://blog.studentrnd.org/post/46637262311/studentrnd-profile-from-sf-codeday-to-dinner-with-leap http://blog.studentrnd.org/post/46637262311/studentrnd-profi... * We created countless technologists, provided students with connections to jobs, and more! Other news: * http://www.king5.com/news/Students-in-code-heaven-at-Code-Day-193177871.html http://www.king5.com/news/Students-in-code-heaven-at-Code-Da... * http://blogs.splunk.com/2013/02/19/studentrnds-1st-code-day-sf-success/ http://blogs.splunk.com/2013/02/19/studentrnds-1st-code-day-... We're currently in 6 cities, and looking for people to help us take this across the country to more cities! Check it out: http://codeday.org/ http://codeday.org/