TL;DR
- Google and Luma’s discover page miss many hackathons and networking events.
- 74.9% of public Luma events are hidden and not featured.
- Networking is the biggest category, with 76.5% hidden.
- Austin has the highest hidden share, 92.2%.
- Use Hidden Events and the event checker to see events Google can’t show.
Finding hackathons and networking events isn’t as simple as searching Google. Many public events are not shown on Luma’s discover page or in search results. If you want to catch the events that slip past search engines, you need to know where to look, and why so many are hidden in the first place.
Why can’t Google and Luma’s discover page find so many hackathons?
Google and Luma’s discover page don’t show a large share of public Luma events, leaving 74.9% hidden from searchers. That’s a significant portion of events you won’t see by default. If you want to find hackathons and networking meetups that aren’t featured, you need to look beyond Google and Luma’s main listing. Hidden Events crawls public Luma calendars and lists every public event, including those not featured on the Luma discover page. This means you can find events that are public but almost impossible to surface through regular search.
For anyone serious about attending or organizing hackathons, this changes the landscape. You’ll see events that even active Luma users miss. The Hidden Events home page is the starting point to browse these listings, or you can jump straight to all the Luma events we track.
Key takeaway: If you rely on Google or Luma’s discover page, you’re missing many public hackathons and networking events.
How many hackathons and networking events are actually hidden?
A large share of public Luma events are hidden, not indexed by Google and not shown on Luma’s main discover page. Right now, 2329 events are hidden, out of 3111 total tracked. That’s 74.9% of all public Luma events. If you’re searching for hackathons, you’re likely missing out on many unless you use a dedicated tool.
Networking events are affected heavily. They make up 39.4% of all events, and 76.5% of those are hidden. To see what’s really out there, check San Francisco networking events or NYC networking events, you’ll notice many aren’t visible on Luma’s discover page or Google.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Total public Luma events | 3111 |
| Hidden (not featured) events | 2329 |
| Hidden share (all cities) | 74.9% |
| Networking events | 1225 |
| Hidden networking share | 76.5% |
How does the hidden share differ between cities?
Hidden event shares vary by city. Austin has the highest hidden share at 92.2%, while Lisbon has the lowest with 48.5%. That means your chances of finding hackathons Google can’t surface depend on where you look. In Austin, almost all public Luma events are hidden, so the local discover page and search engines miss nearly everything. In Lisbon, the hidden share is much lower, but you’ll still find events that don’t show up in search.
For targeted browsing, check Austin events or San Francisco events to see the difference for yourself. Or use the city events widget to embed live city events on your own site.
How can you tell if an event is hidden or featured?
You can’t always tell from a Google search whether a hackathon is hidden or featured. But with the event checker, you can paste any Luma link and instantly see if it’s hidden from the discover page. This tool is free and works for any public Luma event. If you’re an organizer, you can make sure your event is listed by submitting your calendar on the add-event page. Your event will appear live in about ten minutes.
If you want to see what Luma features, compare all events we track with what’s on the Luma discover page. You’ll see how many events are missing from the official listings.
Key takeaway: Tools like the event checker make it easy to spot hidden hackathons and networking events.
What categories and days are likely to have hidden events?
Networking is the main category for hidden events, with 1225 events and 76.5% of them hidden. Many hackathons fall under this umbrella. If you’re after these types, you’ll find far more using Hidden Events than Google or the Luma discover page. The busiest day is Wednesday, with 20.3% of all events starting then. So if you’re looking for hackathons or networking meetups, midweek tends to have more volume.
Explore our guide to how to find hackathons or our guide to how to find networking events for more tips on surfacing hidden categories. And if you want to see what Luma says about categories, browse the Luma help center.
How do you actually find these hidden hackathons?
Start with Hidden Events, which lists every public Luma event, featured or not. Filter by city, category, or date. Use the event checker to confirm if an event is hidden. Organizers can add their own events on the add-event page. For more detail, see our guide to how to find hackathons.
For the official view, check Luma’s discover page, but remember, it misses many public hackathons and networking events.
Key takeaway: You’ll find more hackathons and networking events by using Hidden Events and its tools than by relying on Google or Luma’s main listings.
Want to see what’s live right now? Head to all the Luma events we track and start exploring.
About the author. Himanshu Saleria, Founder, Hidden Events. I love meeting people. I’ve been attending events, hosting them, and picking up patterns along the way for what makes a gathering worth showing up to. Hidden Events surfaces what I’ve been finding. Himanshu Saleria on LinkedIn