# The metaverse is real and here is how we used it to run one of the largest hackathons in 2022.

**Published by:** [Durwin](https://paragraph.com/@durwin/)
**Published on:** 2022-12-09
**URL:** https://paragraph.com/@durwin/the-metaverse-is-real-and-here-is-how-we-used-it-to-run-one-of-the-largest-hackathons-in-2022

## Content

Startup Weekend Global 2022 — Web3 edition is live!Startup Weekend is more than just a hackathon. It is the celebration of the entrepreneurial spirit. It is the culmination of innovation, boldness and the willingness to try. Every year, without fail, we would try to do a Startup Weekend… or two. For 2022, we are doing something unprecedented. We are extending SW to more than 3 months and having more than 2,000+ people join us from more than 90 countries. Web3 is a new space for all of us, but we will explore like brave space explorers venturing into the unknown.Gosh the effort our team put into designing this custom map is extraordinary.Here are some parts of my Opening Address for Startup Weekend Global 2022 — Web3 edition: Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen, and to everyone else all over the world, good morning and good afternoon. For those web3 junkies, GM. That’s what they all type on discord and Twitter. Today, we have more than thousands of participants, spectators, judges, mentors, speakers, community leaders and friends from more than 90 countries coming together to make startup weekend history. It has been a spectacular year for all of us, both in web3 and web2. 2022 has been full of surprises, heartaches, excitement and mysteries. Everyone is hanging on for dear life as the crypto roller coaster goes up and down. The bull market has left us and now the bear market is in full swing. They say the bear market is the best time for builder rights? That is exactly what we will do at Startup Weekend — build! We will build new ideas, build new companies and build a new future.Shoutout to Polygon for being our sponsor and believing in our mission!It’s no secret that the best time to build is when the hype has died down, when the carnage is over and the people have the battle scars to learn from. For everyone here today, it is the perfect opportunity to meet with like-minded people, build amazing companies and learn a thing or two over the next few months. You know, typically for Startup Weekend, we do it over a weekend, as the name suggests. This time, for Startup Weekend Global 2022, we are doing something really special. We will for the first time, be extending Startup Weekend to over 3 months, from 9 Dec 2022 to 4 Mar 2023! This is unprecedented and a huge step towards our commitment for the globally community to learn, build and grow together. Startup Weekend was started in a basement and the goal was to start a company over a weekend. Over the last decade, it has grown into one of the largest entrepreneurial events in the world and we are all part of the movement now. So welcome!Big thanks to Unstoppable Domains for partnering with us!For many of us, Web3 is the future. The technology, its applications and all of its wonders are truly remarkable. That is why we want to encourage everyone here to start building on the 5 themes that we have: Metaverse, NFT, Gaming, Defi and Web3. The possibilities are limitless. For those new to web3, just know that web3 is more than expensive jpegs and token crashes. There are so many fascinating technologies like the blockchain, governance, decentralization and scaling tools. To that effect, we partnered with amazing people in the Web3 space like Polygon and Unstoppable Domains, who believed in our vision of empowering entrepreneurs around the world and bridging the gap between web2 and web3.We even have a dune worm!A huge shoutout to all the volunteers and organizers from all around the world that made this possible, who spent months leading up to SW, planning and organising all that is necessary for this magic to happen. On behalf of my team, I want to take the opportunity to once again, show our appreciation to the sponsors, Polygon, Unstoppable Domains, Techstars, and of course Gather, who believed in what Startup Weekend stood for. Every year I say this and I think I will keep saying it till it becomes a thing: not everyone can be an entrepreneur, but a good entrepreneur can come from anywhere. I wish everyone the best for Startup Weekend Global and let’s have lots of fun! - Have you joined Startup Weekend Global 2022: Web3 Edition? - Wanna join the Startup Weeekend Metaverse?Let’s go: https://startupweekendglobal.com/ - #startups #business #startupx #growth #success #socialmedia #culture #web3 #strategy #hacks #revenue #nfts #eth #btc #crypto #startupweekend #swglobal #startupweekend2022 #metaverse

## Publication Information

- [Durwin](https://paragraph.com/@durwin/): Publication homepage
- [All Posts](https://paragraph.com/@durwin/): More posts from this publication
- [RSS Feed](https://api.paragraph.com/blogs/rss/@durwin): Subscribe to updates
- [Twitter](https://twitter.com/DurwinHo): Follow on Twitter