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almost 6 years ago

Did you know?! Fun Hack Fact Friday tips from your fellow devs

Did you know?!

These impressive devs took home prizes in the first Facebook Online Hackathon’s Messaging track, and wanted to share some of their insights to help you along the way: 

Hackathons present a dual challenge: coming up with a snazzy, game-changing idea followed by materializing that solution into something that works. Narrowing down on an authentic, never-before-seen solution is no piece of cake.  However, as developers, we can often get obsessed with finding that one idea that will revolutionise the world and end up severely restricting ourselves. Keep an eye out for problems that you encounter daily or in your surroundings, then formulate a possible solution around them. More often than not, you are not the only one facing that challenge - so there may be a team you could build who shares the same thinking. 

Next, you've got to chalk out a plan for building your solution, and that involves one crucial ingredient - perspective. Put yourself in the shoes of all the possible users and think: “How can I build something convenient, but not overly fussy and demanding, that is still technologically impressive and serves a human need.” 

Once you have your blueprint, coding it up can be a cinch if you are adept with the tech stack. Even if you aren't, don’t be deterred! With the abundance of resources, forums and blogs that the internet has to offer, whipping up your project is only a matter of persistence, focus and lots of coffee. Starting early can definitely help in assembling your end to end project and also in giving you extra time to add those magical finishing touches. It is key to present your idea precisely and justify how and why you reached your solution. Don't forget to read the rules of the hackathon. Maintaining a simple checklist can come in handy to ensure that you have done everything required to make your submission eligible. Above all, remember to be proud of what you’ve learnt while building. Oh, and celebrate with another cup of coffee!

 

I personally think that Facebook Hackathon taught me a lot about thinking outside the box. Ideas and creativity is the biggest component in the Hackathon. Try 2-3 ideas and pick one of those that is the most creative. When you have already picked the most creative one, try to find creative features to add to that project that make it more unique and creative. For example, people generally use a Facebook Messenger chat bot to automatically respond to certain questions. However, for the project I won (MathPhysy - online tutoring platform based on Messenger), I creatively made it to interact with two users (teacher and student).This made my project unique from other participants. 

Do you have a tip you’d like to share with your fellow devs?  Be sure to share it in the Hackathon Facebook Group, we know they’ll appreciate it!

Questions?

If you have any questions about the hackathon, please post on the discussion forum.