Yodle Sponsors Hack’n Jill Hackathon

Hackathons have been exploding in popularity in recent years.  In fact, on any given weekend there are dozens happening across the country.  A common theme for these hackathons, outside of the free snacks, company SWAG, and energy drinks is male dominated attendance and limited female presence.  Hack ‘n Jill was created to resolve the gender imbalance and bring together equal groups of men and women designers and developers to build fun and useful apps over a 24 hour period.  When the organizers of Hack‘n Jill approached us about getting involved we were happy to support the cause.

Participants were asked to use API’s provided by a handful of technology and data companies to build apps with a “summer in the city” theme. 

One of Yodle’s very own, Kane, an Interaction Designer, joined forces with 2 designers and 3 developers to build the mobile app - Why  Don’t We…, a creative  tool for those times when you just aren’t sure where to go or what to do.  The team of 3 men and 3 women designed an attractive and easy to use interface pulling data from the NY Times Events API to provide fun ideas for events around the city.  The app allows you to invite friends to join you and turn an otherwise boring day into a blast!

The hackathon was a success.  Over 25 apps were built during the 24 hour event.  100 participants – 50 men and 50 women!