Inspired by Facebook (a little company in California) Matt Lamm, Director of IT at Container & Packaging Supply, decided to sponsor the first ever CPS Hackathon. "We have a lot of good ideas, and we just don't have time to work on them," says Lamm. "The Hackathon gives us a chance to work on those projects that we normally wouldn't get to.""I thought he was crazy," says Tracy Thompson, a programmer at CPS. "But hey, if it works for a company like Facebook, then it should work for us." So what is a Hackathon? Programmers unplug, take everything upstairs to the conference room, plug back in and focus on their various programming projects. "Why not? Where else would I be?" exclaims programmer Jon Hansen.
Lamm, for instance, focused on building a mobile version of our website. Thompson, a video enhancement program, and Hansen and Sean Lamm (additional programmer), focused on learning ASP.net and other programming languages to "stay sharp." Jeff McCauley, CEO and emeritus programmer, decided to join in on the fun and worked on moving to a paperless warehouse picking system.
Additionally, its a great way to learn, get to know each other, work on fun projects, and eat junk food.
Who would have ever known that programming is so fascinating? ASP.net! Popcorn.js! Fuze drinks! This is great stuff. I can't seem to figure out why programmers have sometimes been thought of as nerdy. Where did that ever come from? Keep a look out for the salesathon 1.0 coming soon!
ReplyDeleteFYI, when I said we have a lot of good ideas I was referring to all CPS employees. So keep them coming because your idea could be the focus of the next H4CK4TH0N. Keith, great job with the video and for making something so nerdy look... well, still nerdy but with cool background music.
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome! I have a new idea for your next Hackathon, Matt. You could design a website that allows people to socialize with one another by loading photos, videos, favorite websites, and posting random updates about themselves. We can call it FaceNovel. Plus, if we could get MacSnacks to carry Nutrageous candy bars, that would be cool too.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the laugh - that was super nerdy and a tad bit funny - I may or may not have choked on my cereal!! Can't wait till the girls can and spend the day up the conference room - painting our toenails and drinking Fuze drinks! Bring it!!!
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