Yesterday at 5:00pm, Peter Mayer‘s CBD headquarters attracted over 50 hackers, coders, designers, and other talents to participate in the first annual CODEMKRS Super Hackathon.
After registration and orientation, those with app ideas stood up to pitch, then came the free for all. Whoever wanted to be on a certain team was allowed, which explains why some teams are on the smaller end and some have more members. (Note: not all teams were available to be profiled today and a few team member’s names are missing from below, but we will be doing more interviews tomorrow to include everyone!)
Twelve teams, all with fantastic, Super Bowl-centered ideas which will benefit New Orleans, worked through the night to make significant progress. Read on to get more information on eight of those twelve teams.
Team 1
Name: N/A
Members: Scott, George, Frank, Jason, Joel, Josh, Ian, Laura
Idea: Location-based live music venue/event finder app
Scott came up with the idea for a live music band and venue finder to solve a problem he has when he wants to know where to go see a show. In addition to the location-based finder feature, the team wants to show the events that are more popular than others – i.e. more Facebook likes, more Twitter buzz, etc. so people know if one band or venue is better or more popular than others.
Team 2
Name: Digital Tip Jar
Members: Charles, Julian, Patrick
Idea: Allows bands to digitally receive payment from cashless concert goers
Using Paypal or a credit card, this team’s app will allow concert goers to participate in real-time tipping. Users can tip $1, $5, $10, or $20 (tipping the latter gets you a special CD!). Their goal is to give visitors the platform to leave their money with local musicians. Each band or individual will get their own account and QR code so tippers can find them more easily. The app is set to launch at the concert tomorrow night after all of the apps are showcased at the end of the hackathon.
Team 3
Name: Crawfinder
Members:
Idea: an app to find crawfish boils
We’ve all wondered where the biggest, best, and most delicious crawfish boils are throughout the city. Now, all of the information will be in one place with the Crawfinder app. Over Super Bowl weekend, almost every restaurant around the Dome is going to be full, so Crawfinder will be a way to show people a good time centered around good New Orleans food. The team said they moved fast the first night and got a lot done.
Team 4
Name: Nola Parks
Members: Eric Normand, James Braendel, Minka Stoyanova, Adam Mejerson, Charlie Barnes
Idea: App that will share park location and amenities information
As another outside idea, Nola Parks was thought up by members of the Codemkrs team and/or the Super Bowl Host Committee. The idea is simple: creating a tool, the app, that will be passed onto the New Orleans Recreation Department to organize park information throughout the city. Users will be able to find park locations via gps to see how close a certain park is, and see the different amenities across the parks. If they can get everything done in time, they want to incorporate social media into the app. Various Twitter and Instagram hashtags, including #nolaparks, will be available on the app.
Team 5
Name: N/A
Members: Brad, Brownell
Idea: Wait time app for concessions and restrooms
Have you ever wanted to know how long the bathroom line is so you don’t have to miss an extra minute of the game (in this case the Super Bowl)? This app will estimate wait time for restroom lines and concession stands to make the lives of users easier. For increased accuracy for the Super Bowl lines, volunteers would have to scan the area and enter in the data for the users. Have a name idea for this team? Tweet us @SiliconBayou and we’ll let them know!
Team 6
Name: Heart Bucket
Members: Brian, Dan, Max
Idea: Allows users to post brief, positive reviews of restaurants, hotels, and more
Unlike yelp which includes negative reviews, Heart Bucket only allows users to post brief, positive reviews when you have an exceptional experience at a restaurant, hotel, or other venue. The app is centered around a theme of love. Users can favorite, “share the love,” view the map of love, and more. Max came up with the app idea and decided to stick with it, although there are, “certainly other good ideas,” at the hackathon. Check out the working site now at heartbucket.com.
Team 7
Name: N/A
Members: Crawford, Jacob, Reza, Sam, Adele
Idea: social media dashboard for the Super Bowl press room
This currently unnamed app will pull in numerous feeds from social media networks to be displayed in the Super Bowl Press Room. The core feature will make it easier for someone to find more than one related story or post again without stopping the feed. The app will “screenshot” the data and be able to find the same or similar stories later. So, for example, a reporter can note something interesting they want to dig deeper into hours later and the hassle of finding it has already been elimiated. Moments in time will be marked as important and that information can be recalled later.
Team 8
Name: Restaurant Wait Time App
Members:
Idea: Real-time restaurant wait time app
This mobile-friendly app will help get you fed faster as you exit the Super Bowl or other future events. In real-time, the restaurant wait time app will estimate the wait for any given restaurant. It is proximity-based, so you can find an availability within an average of 1000 feet from your current location. Wait times can be found by searching the web, smartphones, or by calling a certain code via a landline. The app idea was born out of a focus group the Super Bowl Host Committee held for restaurants in New Orleans and puts the power back in the hands of restaurants and patrons. The designers built in information (restaurant phone number, location, etc.) from NewOrleansOnline.com and are hoping it can expand to be used during Jazz Fest, Mardi Gras, French Quarter Festival, and more.
Be sure to follow @codemkrs on Twitter and use hashtag #codemkrs and #nola to let everyone know about all the magic happening during the 48 hour hackathon.