The word “Hackathon” is a portmanteau of the words “hack” and “marathon”. Contrary to popular usage, “hack” just means to come up with a creative and intelligent solution to a problem, and “marathon” comes from that one Greek guy who died. Hackathons are events in which computer programmers get together and code for a certain amount of time. Started in the late 90’s these events have become especially popular on college campuses.
At hackathons, people traditionally make websites, apps, and other computer programs, but the hackathon concept has been expanded to include art-making, science, and a variety of other pursuits. At Politics Rewired hackathons, participants are encouraged to program websites and apps, make art and music, develop public policy, or write outlines of legislation and do research. The 24, 36, or 48 hour sprint format fosters concentrated and intense collaboration, unites diverse individuals with similar interests and goals, and lays the foundation for integration among disparate communities.
Three things were the main inspiration for Politics Rewired.
First, regular old hackathons are not good places for politically oriented programming. Prizes are awarded based on estimated market potential and on use of specific corporate sponsors’ hardware or software. Using the hackathon format towards a political aim requires a dedicated hackathon series. The sponsors should be activist groups, not corporations, and the participants should all be there for the same non-commercial purpose.
Second, although most organizers eagerly embrace new technology, there is still a price tag on it. In the activist technology realm, that price tag can distort the market, prioritizing software that caters to the needs of large, well-funded organizations; therefore, most of the existing political tools have been developed directly for mainstream campaign use. They are better tailored to managing giant email lists, tracking supporters, and soliciting donors than to self-organization, collective decision-making, and decentralized planning.
This gap in software is a problem. No tool is politically neutral – each is designed to facilitate certain patterns of organizational practice. Thus, the current software landscape forces smaller groups to make an artificial choice between efficiency and democratic organizational principles. I call it “artificial” because the choice results from deficiencies in the software landscape, and not any inherent conflict between efficiency and activist organizational principles. These hackathons can accomplish greater integration between the organizing and open source software community, as well as providing activists access to free software.
Third, and most simply, there is a question: if there is unrealized political potential in the Internet, where is that potential, and what software is missing that will unlock it? To find the answer, it helps to get more people thinking about the question.