Introducing Showwcase Hackfest 2023

What is Hackfest all about?

We're flipping the switch and making our APIs public! That means developers like you can now dive into the Showwcase API playground and create awesome apps that will be used by over 100,000 developers on Showwcase! 🚀

We're hosting this epic hackathon to bring out the best minds in the developer community and spur innovation for the future. And guess what? You'll win prizes for your brilliant creations! With over $5,000 up for grabs and swag. Get your coding hats on, join the fun, and let's build the future together on the network built for developers! #Hackfest2023

Important Dates

Start Date: 24th April 2023

End Date: 26th May 2023

Demo Day Date: 16th June 2023

Winners Announcement Date: 19th June 2023

Why Should I Participate?

Hackathons can be a great way to showcase your skills, gain experience, and win prizes whilst you're at it. But, we want to highlight that Hackfest2023 is no ordinary hackathon! When have you joined a hackathon that allows you to build directly for developers? You'll be building apps that'll serve over 100,000 developers and solving problems around productivity, learning, networking, landing new opportunities, and more.

Sounds crazy right? Think of it this way, we want to find developers who can build cool shit, support them, and hopefully see their app idea materialize into a full-fledged business.

Also, we will be featuring a list of mentors throughout Hackfest to help guide participants, advise on ideas, and even provide technical direction if needed. These mentors are seasoned experts and those that have done it before.

How Do I Participate?

To participate, you have to:

• Create an account on Showwcase and request an API key from your settings.
• Register for Hackfest by visiting the Official Hackfest Hackathon page.
• Whilst on your settings page, click "Generate New" to create an API key.
• Build an app using the Showwcase API. Here's a link to our documentation.
• Submit your work by publishing a Show with the type ‘Hackathon’ on your Showwcase profile.
• Use the tag: #Hackfest2023 when publishing your Show. IMPORTANT!!
• Share your show on social media and tag @ShowwcaseHQ so we can amplify it for you 💛

So What Are The Prizes?

There's a total of $5,000 up for grabs, and there's going to be a total of 18 winners!

Here's a breakdown of the winning categories and their respective cash prize amount:

Winner 🏆

You'll receive a cash prize of $2,500 bundled together with our coveted "Showwcase San Francisco Market Street Hoodie" Swag and a Certificate of participation.

First Runner Up 🥇

You'll be awarded a cash prize of $1,000 bundled together with our coveted "Showwcase San Francisco Market Street Hoodie" Swag and a Certificate of participation.

Second Runner Up 🥈

You'll be awarded a cash prize of $500 bundled together with our coveted "Showwcase San Francisco Market Street Hoodie" Swag and a Certificate of participation.

Special Mentions 🏅

This winning category has ten(10) winners!

You’ll be awarded a cash prize of $100 bundled together with our coveted, "Showwcase Developer Tee" Swag and a Certificate of participation for each of you.

Consolation Prizes

This winning category has five(5) winners!

The consolation prize includes our "Showwcase Developer Tee" Swag and a Certificate of participation.

So What Exactly Can I Build?

Here are some suggested ideas but you’re free to creatively come up with your own:

NB: These are just example apps that you can build, the apps you can build in this hackathon are not limited to only these ideas

1. Thread Bookmarker: Allow users to call your app/bot to quickly save an entire thread to a remote server where they can visit to access their saved bookmarks
2. AI Chatbot: Integrate with ChatGPT or other AI providers to create a bot that users can techie conversation with
3. Profile Browser Chrome Extension: You can build a Chrome extension that users can install in their browsers that can tell if a user on Twitter or LinkedIn also has a profile on Showwcase
4. Discord Bot: A Discord bot that listens for a thread post, and sends the thread’s link to your Discord channel
5. Thread Cross Poster: A Chrome extension that embeds a button on Twitter or LinkedIn that when clicked, can post content from Twitter or LinkedIn to Showwcase
6. Thread Scheduler: An app that lets you schedule and manage multiple threads with an interactive dashboard

How Will My Project Be Judged?

Projects will be judged based on the following criteria:

• Product Idea: How useful is the idea/solution?
• UX: How well did your app function, and how simple was it to use?
• Article: How constructive, crisp, and informative is the article?

Tips and Tricks

• No idea is a bad idea. However, discussing it with a mentor can make it even more useful. Try it out.
• Start early so you can use most of the time in Hackathon’s duration.
• Socialize your thoughts. Discuss in our community and reach out early for help.
• Make your article as informative as possible. We like stories that cover all aspects.
• Hack when you are most productive, take breaks, and avoid burnout.

Who are the Judges/Mentors?

Here's our lineup of some of the most experienced professionals here to help you through Hackfest!

Carlos Reyna

Victoria Lo

Indra Winata

Aditya Siripragada

Natasha Ann Lum

Marko Denic

When Is Demo Day?

The final submission day is on 26th May at 11:59 PM PT.

This is the last day that you can submit your Hackfest app after which, we will evaluate and announce the top product to come join us at our demo day on the 16th of June 2023 where you will present your app to the entire community on Showwcase and in front of our panel of judges.

If you made it to Demo Day we will send you an email so please ensure you check your inbox!

After demo day, we will compile the results and announce the winners on the 19th of June.

How Do I Get Help?

• Join our Hackathon community on Showwcase
• Join our Hackathon discord channel for any technical support
• Reach out to our developer advocates!

How Do I Get Started?

• Register for the hackathon here
• Start building!

Happy Hacking!
Team Showwcase