www-viget-com-wnwjaw.txt (14959B)
1 [1] Skip to Main Content 2 [2] Viget 3 4 • [3] Work 5 • [4] Services 6 • [5] Articles 7 • [6] Careers 8 • [7] Contact 9 • Open Menu 10 11 Navigation 12 13 [9] Viget Close 14 15 • Practice 16 • [11] Work 17 • [12] Services 18 • [13] Articles 19 20 We’re a full-service digital agency that’s been helping clients make lasting 21 change since 1999. 22 23 [14] Contact Us 24 25 People 26 27 • [15]Company 28 • [16]Careers 29 • [17]Code of Ethics 30 • [18]Diversity & Inclusion 31 32 More 33 34 • [19]Pointless Corp. 35 • [20]Explorations 36 • [21]Code at Viget 37 38 Featured 39 40 [22] 41 Read the Article: First Impressions of the Dia AI Browser 42 43 Newsletter 44 45 First Impressions of the Dia AI Browser 46 47 [23] 48 Read the Article: Time, Tools, and Permission to Experiment: A 2026 Pointless 49 Palooza Recap 50 51 Article 52 53 Time, Tools, and Permission to Experiment: A 2026 Pointless Palooza Recap 54 55 Time, Tools, and Permission to Experiment: A 2026 Pointless Palooza Recap 56 57 [eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ2Z3QtdmlnZXRjb20tYW] 58 59 • [24]Home 60 • [25]Articles 61 • [26]Time, Tools, and Permission to Experiment: A 2026 Pointless Palooza 62 Recap 63 64 [27] Subscribe (opens in a new window) 65 Share 66 67 • [29] Share this page 68 • [30] Share this page 69 • [31] Post this page 70 71 [32] Aubrey Lear 72 73 [33]Aubrey Lear, Director of Employee Engagement 74 75 Article Categories: [34] #News & Culture, [35] #Employee Engagement 76 77 Posted on March 13, 2026 78 79 • [36] 80 Share 81 • [37] 82 Share 83 • [38] 84 Post 85 86 48-hours, 8 projects, a dash of 8-bit influence, and agentic collaborators. 87 Hackathons foster more teamwork, stronger output, and more learning than ever 88 before. 89 90 4 8 - h o u r s , 8 p r o j e c t s , a d a s h o f 8 - b i t i n f l u e n c e 91 , a n d a g e n t i c c o l l a b o r a t o r s . H a c k a t h o n s f o s t e 92 r m o r e t e a m w o r k , s t r o n g e r o u t p u t , a n d m o r e l e a r 93 n i n g t h a n e v e r b e f o r e . 94 95 A few weeks ago, we paused client work for Pointless Palooza, our internal 96 hackathon. It was our largest and most successful Palooza to date! Eight teams 97 shipped projects, prototypes, and explorations in roughly 48 hours. 98 99 [eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ2Z3QtdmlnZXRjb20tYWxsLWFzc2V] 100 101 Hacking in 2026 102 103 Pointless Corp. is Viget's long-running innovation lab, [39]neither pointless 104 nor a corporation. It's how we make space to try, fail, and learn without the 105 constraints of client deliverables. [40]In past years, Pointless projects 106 required carefully assembled teams with dedicated developers. The mission was 107 the same, but the output looked drastically different. 108 109 For example, in [41]2021, our hackathon hosted a similar number of 110 participants, who formed 3 teams and shipped 3 prototypes, all less functional 111 and polished than what we accomplished this time around. In 2026, tools like 112 Replit, Lovable, Bolt, and Claude Code enabled small teams and even individuals 113 to accomplish far more than ever before. 114 115 What We Built 116 117 [42]A Custom Obsidian Plugin 118 119 Viget's Obsidian enthusiasts used Pointless to explore what happens when you 120 point AI coding agents at your personal knowledge base. The team experimented 121 with Claude Code inside Obsidian, building a plugin that connects your web 122 clipper and file tree to cheap, targeted LLM calls. Their finding: AI tools are 123 becoming effective general-purpose assistants for managing information, not 124 just producing it. 125 126 [eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ2Z3QtdmlnZXRjb20tYWxsLWFzc2V] 127 128 [43]Scooter Commuter 129 130 A browser-based game that helps remote workers mentally arrive at their workday 131 through playful moments: waking up, grabbing coffee, or hopping on a scooter. 132 The five-person team of designers, project managers, and strategists went from 133 idea to interactive prototype in 48 hours, tackling a universal remote-work 134 challenge with creativity and warmth. They leveraged agentic tools, eliminating 135 the need for a dedicated developer to get past the starting line. 136 137 [44]Shelf Help 138 139 Born from Viget's thriving book culture, Shelf Help delivers smarter, more 140 personalized reading recommendations. The team researched what existing 141 platforms get wrong, mapped MVP features, and built a working 142 prototype—starting with a personal pain point and validating a better solution 143 in a short sprint. 144 145 [45]A Slack-Based Weekly All-Hands Production Tool 146 147 Seeking to cut down on coordination overhead, this solo exploration set out to 148 build a Slack-first tool to manage presenter slots, nudge people through prep, 149 and keep the run-of-show coherent for our internal weekly all-hands meeting. 150 151 [46]To-Don’t List 152 153 Flip the script on productivity: instead of tracking what you do, track what 154 you successfully don't do. This gamified habit tracker rewards restraint with 155 collectible pixel plants for an isometric garden, all wrapped in a cozy 8-bit 156 aesthetic inspired by Stardew Valley and Tamagotchi. The four-person team used 157 an agentic workflow and AI image generation to build the experience, a great 158 example of a cross-disciplinary group turning a playful concept into something 159 polished and cohesive. 160 161 [47]Barnaby 162 163 An AI-powered language app that replaces grammar drills with contextual 164 conversation practice, like ordering food or meeting a friend, and adapts to 165 the learner's level. The functional app was built entirely by three UX 166 researchers (no developers) using Lovable and Supabase. Their takeaway: prompt 167 engineering is its own kind of UX design. 168 169 [48]Wereabouts 170 171 This werewolf-themed location-sharing app blends playful branding with real 172 utility. The team used AI to spark creativity, starting with their mascot. 173 Shipping a working prototype by the end of Day One. Their key insight: AI 174 handled speed, but human judgment handled direction. 175 176 [eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ2Z3QtdmlnZXRjb20tYWxsLWFzc2V] 177 178 Another Awesome, to-be-announced, Project 179 180 The last project, internally dubbed Dave’s Mystery Project, has not yet hit the 181 Viget blog. What we can reveal is that a cross-disciplinary team worked to 182 combine digital and physical tech advancements to foster connection and 183 friendship, all with an 8-bit spin. We’ll share more in the months ahead. The 184 team remains hard at work and plans to unveil their experience at our upcoming 185 spring all-hands retreat. 186 187 Takeaways 188 189 AI didn't replace anyone; it changed who could build what. The most striking 190 pattern this year was who was shipping software. A team of three UX researchers 191 built a fully functional language learning app. A DevOps engineer inspired a 192 team of designers to create a gamified habit tracker with pixel art. A client 193 strategist helped architect a location-sharing app. AI tools didn't eliminate 194 the need for expertise; they redistributed what's possible across roles. 195 196 Human judgment remains the critical ingredient. Every team used AI to 197 accelerate their build and reported the same thing: knowing when to redirect, 198 override, or step away from AI output was just as important as generating it. 199 Teams treated AI as a capable collaborator that still needs a clear-eyed human 200 in the loop. 201 202 Solving real problems creates the best energy. This year's projects tackled 203 genuine needs: coordinating a weekly all-hands meeting, finding the right book, 204 and creating a sense of balance for remote workers. Pointless projects don't 205 need a business case, but we find that solving problems rooted in real 206 frustrations tends to generate the most momentum and learning. 207 208 What’s Next 209 210 Pointless Palooza has always been one of Viget's most valuable investments. A 211 chance to step outside the day-to-day, experiment freely, and come back 212 sharper. This year, teams moved faster, the diversity of who built what 213 expanded, and the sophistication of what got shipped increased. All reflecting 214 the real shift in what’s possible in our industry today. 215 216 The point of Pointless has never been the projects themselves. It's what we 217 carry back: new skills, stronger relationships across disciplines, and a 218 clearer picture of what's possible. This year, what's possible got a whole lot 219 bigger. 220 221 [49] Aubrey Lear 222 223 [50]Aubrey is Viget’s Director of Employee Engagement based in our Falls 224 Church, VA, HQ. She is an organized advocate for color coordinated calendars 225 and closets, but most importantly she is a believer in team spirit and creative 226 thinking. 227 228 [51]More articles by Aubrey 229 230 Related Articles 231 232 • [52] 233 The Point of Pointless Corp. in the AI Age 234 235 Article 236 237 The Point of Pointless Corp. in the AI Age 238 239 Brian Williams 240 241 • [53] 242 The Art of Doing Nothing: Building the "To-Don’t" List 243 244 Article 245 246 The Art of Doing Nothing: Building the "To-Don’t" List 247 248 Annalisa Kleinschmidt 249 250 • [54] 251 Pointless explorations of Obsidian & Claude Code 252 253 Article 254 255 Pointless explorations of Obsidian & Claude Code 256 257 Joshua Pease 258 259 The Viget Newsletter 260 261 Nobody likes popups, so we waited until now to recommend our newsletter, 262 featuring thoughts, opinions, and tools for building a better digital world. 263 [55]Read the current issue. 264 265 [56]Subscribe Here (opens in new window) 266 267 Site Footer 268 269 Have an unsolvable problem or audacious idea? 270 271 Let’s get to work 272 273 [57] Contact Us [58] [email protected] [59] 703.891.0670 274 275 • Practice 276 • [60]Work 277 • [61]Services 278 • [62]Articles 279 280 • People 281 • [63]Company 282 • [64]Careers 283 • [65]Code of Ethics 284 • [66]Diversity & Inclusion 285 286 • More 287 • [67]Pointless Corp. 288 • [68]Explorations 289 • [69]Code at Viget 290 291 Sign Up For Our Newsletter 292 293 A curated periodical featuring thoughts, opinions, and tools for building a 294 better digital world. 295 296 [70] Check it out 297 298 Social Links 299 300 [71] Viget 301 302 • [72] 303 • [73] 304 • [74] 305 • [75] 306 • [76] 307 • [77] 308 309 Viget rhymes with 'dig it'. 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