Are you a coder? Architect? Database guru? Network engineer? Mobile developer? User-experience expert? If you have hands-on tech skills, get those hands dirty at a Hackathon.

Full disclosure: Years ago, I thought Hackathons were, well, silly. If you’ve got the skills and extra energy, put them to work for coding your own mobile apps. Do a startup! Make some dough! Contribute to an open-source project! Do something productive instead of taking part in coding contests!

Since then, I’ve seen the light, because it’s clear that Hackathons are a win-win-win.

• They are a win for techies, because they get to hone their abilities, meet people, and learn stuff.

• They are a win for Hackathon sponsors, because they often give the latest tools, platforms and APIs a real workout.

• They are a win for the industry, because they help advance the creation and popularization of emerging standards.

One upcoming Hackathon that I’d like to call attention to: The MEF LSO Hackathon will be at the upcoming MEF16 Global Networking Conference, in Baltimore, Nov. 7-10. The work will support Third Network service projects that are built upon key OpenLSO scenarios and OpenCS use cases for constructing Layer 2 and Layer 3 services. You can read about a previous MEF LSO Hackathon here.

Build your skills! Advance the industry! Meet interesting people! Sign up for a Hackathon!