Thanks to everyone that attended our webinar today regarding our new Managed IDS product from Alert Logic. I provided a link below for anyone that wants to download a copy of the presentation.

Download Presentation

You can find more about VISI’s Managed IDS product on our web site.

They came, they danced, they programmed. They played hangman, they created mousepads, they raced chairs. All at Sierra Bravo’s Overnight Website Challenge. And all caught on tape. Enjoy.

Now that I have recovered my sleep bank a smidgen, it is time to wrap up my thoughts on the F1 Web Challenge that took place over the weekend.

As blogged below, Team IB and Families Moving Forward were the overall winners, but I don’t know a non-profit that was participating that didn’t think they had the best website or the best development team. The level of pride emanating from both the developer teams and the non-profits was palpable. Pride not only in creating some magnificent websites, but also in overcoming major obstacles, and completing it all in 24 hours. The creativity and innovation juices were flowing freely, as was the caffeine.

Speaking of caffeine, one of the facts that impressed me the most about the night revolved around caffeine. While Mike, of VISI, was getting ready to announce the winners, he asked if anyone had survived through the entire event without caffeine. Four or five people raised their hands, so kudos to them. Other means of invigorating participants included yoga, the Guitar Hero tournament and chair racing. Naps were had by a few people, as it was hard to resist a bean bag, sleeping bag or stairwell at 3:00 a.m.

Another aspect that impressed me was the news coverage. Starting after midnight and continuing on until the announcement of winners, TV crews from four local stations were in and out.

KSTP has two great videos from the event. The first clip interviews Kris Szafranski, a web developer, and the second interviews Barbara Hensley, from Hope Chest for Breast Cancer.

Check out the pictures posted by multiple people in attendance at the F1 Web Challenge Flickr group. We have a few more videos to post here on the blog, so keep checking back.

Lastly, big web applause for anyone who came out, stayed up all night or participated at all. Sierra Bravo, the web teams, the non-profits all did such a great job, and I had a blast filming it all.

There were no losers at the F1 Web Challenge this weekend but one team was awarded with top prize. The winning team was TEAM IB represented by Ken Earley, Luke Grohovsky, Lance Vo, Jessica Callery, Susan Inglis, Kahlil Brewington, John Shepard and Leon Giles. They created a wonderful site for Families Moving Forward. View the clip below for a walk thru their new site along with an awards presentation by Mike Sowada with VISI.

The media arrived throughout the night and early morning at the F1 Website Challenge. Fox 9 stopped by at 2:30am while WCCO broadcasted live three times between 10:15am and 10:45am — interviewing Mark Hurlburt from Sierra Bravo and Brian Gioielli from Riverview Economic Development Association (one of the 11 non-profits).