Now announcing the DataPalooza hackathon; bringing together the power of Twilio Segment and Databricks powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS)! Whether you’re an experienced developer, a data scientist, a marketing analyst or just dipping your toes into the ocean of data, this hackathon is for you. We encourage you to team up with others to develop new projects or update existing ones that leverage the integration of these tools. Craft a machine learning model, create a mobile or web app, design an interactive dashboard, build an integration, widget, extension, or any other innovative tool you can think of.

 

About the challenge

Twilio Segment simplifies the process of collecting, transforming, and managing first-party customer data and supports better marketing through an omnichannel approach. Effortlessly unify data across customer touchpoints, including websites, mobile apps, and server-based processes by sending interaction data, often in near real-time, to various tools without the need to modify tracking code. 

With origins in academia and the open source community, Databricks was founded in 2013 by the original creators of Apache Spark™, Delta Lake and MLflow. As the world’s first and only lakehouse platform in the cloud, Databricks combines the best of data warehouses and data lakes to offer an open and unified platform for data and AI.

Twilio Segment and Databricks introduced a strategic partnership this summer with the aim to facilitate the integration of customer data from Twilio Segment into the Databricks Lakehouse and empower businesses with actionable insights and scalable personalized experiences through AI use cases. 

 

What you'll learn: 

  • Gain hands-on experience with Twilio Segment, data lakes, and other data storage 
  • Network with like-minded individuals and experts in the field by joining the official DataPalooza Discord
  • Showcase your talent, creativity, and problem-solving skills
  • Win exciting prizes and recognition for your innovative solutions

Requirements

What to Build

Build (or update) creative data projects that make use of Twilio Segment and integrations with either Databricks, Apache Spark, OR Amazon S3. 

Potential submission types include but are not limited to machine learning models, mobile or web apps, dashboards, integrations, widgets, extensions, or other tools

 

What to Submit

  • URL to your live and functioning project (We strongly prefer for the URL to allow judges to view and/or interact with the project. If your project type is not sharable in this format, explain why on the submission form.)
  • Text description that should explain the features and functionality of your project.
  • 3-5 minute demo video.
 

 Getting Started

  1. Generate mock-up data or use your own. 
  2. Use your existing Databricks account or sign up for a 2-week trial. Note: the trial cannot be extended for this hackathon, so you may opt to use Apache Spark or Amazon S3 instead. 
  3. Sign up for a free Twilio Segment account.
    • Use the Source button on your Segment dashboard to integrate your Databricks or Amazon S3 data into your Segment account. Apache Spark doesn’t have a native integration, so you can use this blog post to see how it’s done. 
  4. Check out the Resources tab for more documentation, videos, and tips on building your project. 

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$20,000 in prizes
DataPalooza Champion
1 winner

• $10,000 USD
• Blog post featuring the winning projects

2nd Place
1 winner

• $5,000 USD
• Blog post featuring the winning projects

3rd Place
1 winner

• $2,000 USD
• Blog post featuring the winning projects

Honorable Mentions
3 winners

• $1,000 USD
• Blog post featuring the winning projects

Most Wholesome Submission (Formerly Funniest)
1 winner

• Twilio Segment Swag Kit (for up to 3 team members)
• Blog post featuring the winning projects

Most Unexpected Marketing Use-Case
1 winner

• Twilio Segment Swag Kit (for up to 3 team members)
• Blog post featuring the winning projects

Best Use of Open Data
1 winner

• Twilio Segment Swag Kit (for up to 3 team members)
• Blog post featuring the winning projects

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

Jeff Lawson

Jeff Lawson
CEO | Twilio Segment

Marcus Ericsson

Marcus Ericsson
Director, Software Engineering | Twilio Segment

Gandhar Tannu

Gandhar Tannu
Product Manager | Twilio Segment

Kurt Lu

Kurt Lu
Product Manager | Twilio Segment

Jon Kilroy

Jon Kilroy
Architect | Twilio Segment

Igor Krtolica

Igor Krtolica
Sr. Partner Solutions Architect | AWS

Dan Morris

Dan Morris
Sr. Director, Industry Solutions | Databricks

Judging Criteria

  • Implementation
    Does the project demonstrate quality software development and use of the required tools?
  • Quality of the Idea
    How creative and unique is the project? Does the project make creative use of data? Does it delight the audience?
  • Value
    How widely useful is the solution to other organizations or users? How easy is it to use? How accessible is it?

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

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