Die Wortschöpfung aus "Hack" und "Marathon" kommt ursprünglich aus der IT-Branche und bezeichnet ein Treffen, bei dem gemeinsam an kreativen Lösungen für ein technisches Problem getüftelt wird.

A hackathon is a marathon computer-programming competition that, among computer programmers, is only slightly less popular than video games, Ultimate Frisbee, or Game of Thrones. It lasts twenty-four hours to five days, and usually there’s a lot of Red Bull and very little sleep.

People who haven’t participated in hackathons talk about them as hotbeds of innovation, the kinds of environments in which great thinkers come together and dream up exciting new ideas. Hackers don’t see it that way. They share an open secret: nothing useful is ever created at a hackathon. There’s even a term for the useless software that people make: vaporware. The idea is that it’s created, and then it evaporates because nobody works on the project after the hackathon (despite everyone’s best intentions).

In reality, a hackathon is a sporting and social event. It’s like a regatta for nerds. Hackathons also serve as outrageously complex recruiting events. Venture capitalists and head hunters for top tech firms haunt hackathons to spot and poach talent. On the surface, however, nobody talks about hackathon software as ephemeral. People pretend that they’re really starting businesses, that they’re creating software that will have an impact, that they’re doing something that has the potential to change lives. The fantasy of creating the next Google is seductive—so seductive that people sign up to spend days with strangers, forgoing sleep, in order to play at being tech entrepreneurs.