Hack (n.): A clever or elegant technical accomplishment, especially one with a playful bent.
For the third year in a row, Bigstock joined forces with Shutterstock for a 24-Hour Hackathon. The Hackathon is an annual event when coworkers team up to work on projects they’d like to see come into fruition … in a day. The respective projects must benefit our customers, contributors, and company in some way, and need to be completed in this mandatory timeframe.
After an intense twenty-four hour period, each team then presents their hacks to the entire company. Winners are chosen. Lessons are learned. People are tired.
Here are some big takeaways from last Thursday’s Hackathon.
#1. The writing really is on the wall. Posters like this one were scattered throughout the office, prepping us for a hard day’s night. (Another favorite: Working the late Shift.)
#2. Safety first. Nerf gun wars were aplenty. Here, our ever-resourceful office manager, Allyn, assumes the position. (It’s about survival, ladies and gentleman. Survival.)
#3. Four eyes are better than two. When you’re about to show your work to a room filled with hundreds of your fellow coworkers, another set of eyes – or two – is essential. (Adam, left, hadn’t blinked all night.)
#4. We all scream (and push, and shove) for ice cream. Arriving at 1am, this ice cream shipment didn’t stand a chance against our hungry hacking teams. (If a hefty scoop of Dulce de Leche doesn’t wake ’em up, nothing will.)
#5. Mad scientists are mad for a reason. When you challenge yourself to complete two weeks’ worth of work in a day, things are going to get a little tense. (Kevin’s fine. Really.)
#6. Sweet dreams are made of this. We were like kids in a candy store, as gummy bears and more were presented as midnight snacks. (Sustenance is key.)
#7. Listen to your body. The below photo was taken at 4am. (Poor Nick is all hacked out.)
#8. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Ryan, our rambunctious receptionist, had some fun with a miniature paper version of our CEO, Jon Oringer, and popped the prop into pictures throughout the Hackathon, as seen below. (For the full experience, use hashtag #oringeradventures on Twitter, while it lasts.)
#9. Never pass up an opportunity to dance. And, if that opportunity just happens to be facing out a window for the entire office to see, so be it. (The late hour didn’t stop this team of spunky, sleep-deprived Vogue-ers.)
#10. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day … particularly when you’ve been up for over 24 hours straight. (Fear not, we also had thick fruit smoothies to help wash these babies down.)
#11. Winning isn’t everything, but it feels awesome. An esteemed panel of judges selected winning teams within a handful of categories. (Natalia would like to thank her publicist, and all of the little people.)
Thus concludes our Hackathon 2013 Recap. Congrats to all of the participants and winners! See you next year.
