Hackathons, once an obscure corner of the computer programming world, are moving into mainstream of the technology industry. WSJ's Emily Glazer explains why the contests which bring together computer programmers have become more popular.
In hopes of spurring innovation , the hackathons are often sponsored by some of the larger names in the technology world, including Google, Facebook and Yahoo. In fact, in a sign that hackathons have reached the mainstream, even the federal government recently sponsored a hacking conference.
