At most hackathons, the worst thing that could happen to a developer is having the crowd burst out laughing at the product ideas they present. At an event in New York City last week, however, cracking up other developers and judges was an essential ingredient to winning the top prize. Comedy Hack Day, held Sept. 8 and 9 at Pivotal Labs on Broadway, might have been the first time mobile app developers were given an opportunity to compete on teams that included professional comedians in the quest to develop an innovative software idea. Companies like Cultivated Wit and Twilio are working to bring comedians and application developers together in the hope that each side can also further develop the other's skills. Special report
