Absolute True. I once joined a weekend Hackathon. I built a web app, released it live with a clear business/usage proposition.
I didn't even make it to the first round but the ones that got selected and won don't make any usable sense at all. They won and the 'business/app' dies at that Hackathon. There were no practical application at all.
Wow that was a bit extreme heh. But I think that role of technology vs role of business model is what makes a hackathon different from, say, startup weekend. And again, as the author pointed out, we don't need to get the first price to enjoy the 'high' and fun of a hackathon. Onward!
I didn't even make it to the first round but the ones that got selected and won don't make any usable sense at all. They won and the 'business/app' dies at that Hackathon. There were no practical application at all.