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Hackathons Are Dystopian Events That Dupe People Into Working For Free, Say Sociologists (fastcompany.com)

Posted by msmash on from the closer-look dept.

An anonymous reader writes: That's the conclusion that two sociologists came to after observing seven hackathons over the period of one year, reports Wired. In "Hackathons As Co-optation Ritual: Socializing Workers and Institutionalizing Innovation in the 'New' Economy," sociologists Sharon Zukin and Max Papadantonakis argue that companies use the allure of hackathons to get people to work for free. They says sponsors fuel the "romance of digital innovation by appealing to the hackers' aspiration to be multi-dimensional agents of change" when in fact the hackathons are just a means of labor control.

10 of 155 comments (clear)

  1. Socialists or sociologists? by dlleigh · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I know that the terms are not mutually exclusive.

    1. Re:Socialists or sociologists? by alvinrod · · Score: 1, Insightful

      And some people wonder why there's no conservative arts being taught in college.

      Isn't that what seminaries are for?

      Thousand year old religious texts are about as conservative as it gets.

  2. love the summary by ooloorie · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Read the article summary carefully:

    Hackathons Are Dystopian Events That Dupe People Into Working For Free, Say Sociologists. That's the conclusion that two socialists came to after observing seven hackathons over the period of one year, reports Wired.

    The mask slips.

  3. They may be considered as free advertising by bobstreo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And while on the subject, please feel free to discuss non-paying Internships...

    1. Re:They may be considered as free advertising by El+Cubano · · Score: 4, Insightful

      And while on the subject, please feel free to discuss non-paying Internships...

      Different animal altogether. I work as a programmer and I like to attend hackathons every once in a while for the following reasons (in no particular order):

      • Meet other programmers outside my normal professional circle
      • Get to work on/hack on projects substantially different from what I work on day-to-day
      • Getting the brain moving/heading in a different programming direction for a while makes me a better programmer with the "normal" things I program every day

      There are probably other benefits that I do not specifically consider, but the ones above are the big ones for me.

      I go to hackathons because I get something out of it, more than they get from me, as it were.

  4. Re:sociology by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 3, Insightful

    That's the definition. In practise, in a lot of cases GP isn't too far beside the mark. That doesn't mean there's no science going on at all in sociology departments, but if you read some of the papers coming out (which I do just to amuse myself from time to time), you'll see that a big part of it is an enormous echo chamber where "scientists" repeat dogma with little or no scientific basis.

    --
    If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
  5. idiotologists by goombah99 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Why is it considered duping to get people excited about working on something for free? Passion is one of the greatest joys and I'd sacrifice a lot of take home pay if I could get more passion for my work. Thus breaks now and then where I get excited and work on fun challenges with other people to create something remarkable are not working for free, they are working for me.

    --
    Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
    1. Re:idiotologists by war4peace · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I'll be the devil's advocate here.
      Going to a hackaton and working for free isn't the problem. The problem is what happens with said work afterwards. Does it become F/OSS with some sort of GPL license or something similar, thus preventing corporations from taking that work and making it theirs, locking down the code? Then it's all cool.
      But if corporations lure people into working for free through whatever means, then use those ideas, that code and that development to expand their portfolio, making shit tons of money in the process, then there's a big problem.

      I did work for free in the past out of enthusiasm, saw my work being used by other entities to make lots of money and I got the shaft, so I can relate to TFA concerns.

      --
      ...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
  6. "Duping" people ? by mysidia · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Well, if the Hackathon is for something like OpenBSD, then I think people already know and expect the work will be free/open source and such.

    If the hackathon is for a proprietary company, then the people either work for the company, or receive some sort of compensation for their work, otherwise they would retain the rights to their code; either way, it's not free work....

  7. Their technical credentials and aspirations are..? by llamalad · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Didn't read TFA, but do these researchers understand what motivates people to participate?

    Speaking as an established professional in a highly technical field -and as someone whose career has been further as much by hobbies and personal interests as certifications and professional experience- hackathons are in fact insanely fun, an invaluable social outlet that helps form lasting friendships and establish professional contacts, and a great way to build teamwork skills, learn new things, and challenge your abilities.

    Sure, it's a challenge to build an app in a weekend (Rails Rumble), but it's fun. If that's your idea of fun.

    I wonder how these researchers would describe gyms (establishments which trick you into paying money to do meaningless physical labor?), marathons, and online dating?