Monday night, after the Philadelphia User Group meetup, I got to talking with Judi Sohn and Amy Purdy about the Salesforce Community, and how collaborative and supportive everyone is. I feel that energy every time I attend a Developer or User Group meetup, every time I see questions being answered online, and at events like the Salesforce1 Tours and, of course, Dreamforce! Another place I felt this was at the Salesforce Summer of Hacks hackathon in New York City. I was blown away by the collaboration and friendliness of the hackers, by how teams formed around meaningful ideas, and by how many teams included people who had never met before.
Salesforce Hackathons are Different
Salesforce Hackathons are different because the Salesforce Community is different. I had heard negative things about hackathons: they are cut-throat, they are clique-y, there are only men, and newbies don’t feel welcome. I felt the exact opposite in the Salesforce community. Newbies who had Googled “Salesforce1 Platform” the week before the hackathon were welcomed by experienced developers and admins. Diverse teams worked hard all night long together, focused only on the goal of building the best mobile app idea. In addition, technical and logistical support was provided by “Life Guards” in bright red t-shirts so attendees always had what they needed (I was one of those, providing technical support, cleaning the kitchen, and acquiring white boards as needed).
Register for the Salesforce $1 Million Hackathon Now!
My summer hackathon experience was inspiring, and I can’t wait to do it again October 10-12th in San Francisco at the Salesforce $1 Million Hackathon. Whether you are a professional hackathoner or a newbie, a man or a woman, a Salesforce1 Platform expert or you’re Googling it right now, I encourage you to take this opportunity to collaborate, innovate, and have fun building the best mobile app. You just might also take home one of the 35 prizes, totaling $1 Million!
Need more info? Make sure to check out the Official Rules, FAQ, and hackathon highlights. Then register here!
Wait, what if I don’t have a team?
Not sure what you’d build or who you’d team up with? You can find your team even before the Dreamforce hackathon begins. Tweet these hashtags: #TeamUp #df14hack and follow the hashtags to see other developers looking for someone just like you. If you link up, perfect!
If not, you can network at the beginning of the hackathon on Friday night, October 10th to find teammates. To make it fun and easy to find people, we’ll have a “Team Up Wall” where developers, UX designers, and business people can all post selfies, using the Twitter hashtags #TeamUp #df14hack, and the pictures will automatically print and be posted on the Team Up Wall, real time! That way, you can use the Team Up Wall to find a perfect match to join forces with.
The Salesforce Community is why I love what I do. I can’t wait to see everyone in San Francisco on October 10th!
Looking for me on Twitter? I’m @rockchick322004, and I tweet about the Salesforce1 Platform and Women in Tech.