<i>&gt;&gt; Salesmanship is rewarded. The rewards are given strictly based on the presentation</i><p>This is not a bad thing. I&#x27;ve won hackathons partly–but not <i>strictly</i>–because we had a team that could present well in front of judges and an audience.<p>Public speaking, sales, and presenting to others is an important skill in business and entrepreneurship. The author would be wise to convey this to his students. A hacker who can build a product of value AND sell it well is a force to be reckoned with.<p>Sorry, but I love hackathons as long as they&#x27;re run somewhat well. If I don&#x27;t like the food, I&#x27;ll go eat somewhere else. I&#x27;m too old these days to work through the night so I usually get a hotel room and get a good sleep. But college students are already used to studying through the night, so I don&#x27;t see what the big deal is.<p>Beyond the intersection of making &lt;-&gt; presenting (see above), I also love that hackathons force you to work within constraints–most notably time.<p>Its a great way to network–especially if there are corporate sponsors. I&#x27;ve met some great friends at hackathons and I&#x27;ve received job offers from companies I&#x27;ve met. I&#x27;ve even been offered investment in a project.<p>Yeah, people cheat. Yeah, some hackathons are poorly run. The pros still outweigh the cons for me though.