A Happy Hacker Am I, Today!

Just a moment ago, I received an email from the producers of a documentary, "48 to Launch." It's named after the 48 hours many Hackathons typically take. They filmed the entire AT&T Silicon Beach Hackathon and I helped them extensively -- especially with my evaluations of the contenders.

 I've coached a couple of Hackathons now, this last one our title was that of "Sensei," because we handled multiple teams -- there weren't enough "Coaches" to go around. That went down really well with me, because I'm a Brown Belt in Goju Ryu Karate. (Ni Kyu for those who know; Next April, outside of Kyoto, I'll test for Ichi Kyu). And my boutique consulting firm is very informed by the Martial Arts mentoring system and approach. But that's another day's blog.

It's a shame that more CTOs didn't coach this year, because a Hackathon is the best possible opportunity for senior IT professionals. The experience is wonderful beyond expression. It's not only good for IT pros, but for everyone. That's the topic of an upcoming post: Why Everyone Should Do a Hackathon. I'm also going to prepare a presentation on this topic. So stay tuned ...

Some excerpt quotations from TheHackerCIO & the Narrator:

TheHackerCIO: This is everything that's great about America.

Narrator: To help level the playing field, Veteran technology moguls hand select teams to mentor throughout the weekend.

TheHackerCIO: I'm James Rothering, I'm a part-time CTO for early-stage Startups.

TheHackerCIO: And an extraordinarily good one, I might add.

I love to see the publicity for Hackathons, so I'm a very Happy Hacker today!!!

And, having spent three years living in London,  One and a half of them working for a Startup at Charing Cross, right next to Nelson's Statue; I know how much my London readers will appreciate me offering up my Obligatory "Have A Nice Day!" imperative!

I Remain,

The Very Happy HackerCIO