Acclaim joins top developers at #HackDisrupt

One of the many cool things that comes along with working on new, buzzy technology like badging is being asked to collaborate with other new, buzzy technologists at events like TechCrunch Disrupt 2014 in San Francisco. For this #HackDisrupt event, hackers converged from all around the world and had 24 hours to work their magic on innovative apps, sites and ideas. 

Andrew Rich, Acclaim developer extraordinaire, attended the  event and came away with some great observations, plus a really cool adult-sized onesie.

Here’s what Andrew had to say about the experience:

Why was Acclaim asked to attend Disrupt SF 2014?
Acclaim was at the Hackathon to promote Acclaim, our APIs and encourage developers and entrepreneurs  to build Acclaim into their hacks.

Why were you, specifically, there?
I was there to help anyone with any problems connecting to or using the Acclaim APIs.

So what did you do all day?
I pitched the Acclaim API, Pearson Developers Network, and developer.pearson.com APIs  to hundreds of developers as they decided upon their hack ideas. 

What was the outcome of the Hackathon?
A group called Shower With Friends won the first place prize for a gadget and app that measures the amount of water used in your shower and challenges you to use less water by competing with friends on social media.

Pearson awarded our prize for best use of Pearson APIs to Questrip.  They used Pearson DK Top Ten APIs to create a RPG style, quest-based traveling application.

What are two of the coolest things you saw and/or did?

1. I loved seeing people develop hardware hacks with arduinos and spark.io. These interfaces allow fast development of hybrid software/hardware hacks,  like a rocket that launches after it receives 10 tweets with its hashtag, or a board of lights that turns off its lights as its user meditates with an EEG sensor on and calms his brainwaves.
2. At dinnertime, a company called Clover gave out adult sized, fleece onesies to everyone who followed them on Twitter! While they seemed silly at first, as temperatures dropped below 50 at night in the unheated warehouse on Pier 48, they proved to be quite useful for many of the hackers!

What else stood out to you about the experience?
Meeting Tristan Sokol and Jeof Oyster was a highlight. Pitching to developers and judging the hacks with them was a lot of fun. I learned a lot about the culture around hacks and startups from them, and enjoyed hearing their perspective on the industry.