New prizes and new API endpoints for this weekend’s global hackathon

This weekend is our global hackathon, and, to get people extra excited, today we’re launching a slew of new API capabilities for our 10,000-strong developer community… and unveiling a few new prizes for the winning hacks!

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Here are the details: developers, you now have access to two beta versions of new Push APIs, with one other API coming tomorrow.

The new User Push API allows third-party applications to opt in to receive notifications when their authenticated users check in. The new Venue Push API gives third-party developers the ability to receive real-time notifications when someone checks in to a venue managed by one of the app’s users. And, tomorrow, just a few weeks after launching Lists, we’re excited to finally deliver what developers have been asking for: the release of our Lists API! Although not yet a fully-baked version (we’ve already got some tweaks on deck!), developers will now have full authority to create, read, and write lists. We’ll be sure to keep our ears to the ground for your feedback and thoughts so we can improve it.

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For those of you coming to hack this weekend, we have some cool new prizes:

• the best website using the new Venue Push API will be featured on the giant NASDAQ screen in Times Square in NYC – and, NASDAQ will fly you out to see it in action!
• the team with the best hack using the Twilio API will also be flown out to NYC to receive some face-to-face advice and guidance from the incredible team at Union Square Ventures
• to sweeten the pot, the Grand Prize Winner will not only receive the foursquare title belt, but we’re also going to throw in a trip to NYC for an intimate dinner with our insightful investor Bryce and our dapper co-founder Naveen.

More info on the incredible hackathon prizes (as well as rules to participate!) can be found here.

Hackers from over 100 cities around the world have already signed up to attend or host their own foursquare hack session, and there’s still some time to find or organize an event in your city (or even be at our official sites in New York, San Francisco, Paris, or Tokyo). We’ve got some suggestions about what you might want to build on our wish list, but we’re pretty confident the hacker community will come up with something amazing. See you soon!