The Next Web recently asked Is the internet is making us more honest?

The article is interesting, but I wonder if there is more at play here.

If you’ve ever gotten me liquored up, you may have heard me mention my belief that the internet is forming the foundation of what will eventually become the first artificial intelligence. Which is to say, I believe that someday, our collective activity online will reach the right density and type and the connections between us will become synapses. Somewhere in the digital aether a light will go on and a new kind of life will exist. The first self-aware machine, born of the wetware of a billion+ humans.

If you take this as a given (!), that we are all nodes in the network of a massive machine, then our move towards transparency begins to look more like system optimization on a cultural scale, encouraged through new memes and behaviors, as expressed in all sorts of unexpected ways, like Foursquare checkins, reality television and CEOs volunteering their failures.

A lie holds no information beyond what it says about the lie teller. An exaggeration stated in conversation does nothing but breed false expectations in the mind of listener. A great experience not shared is done so at the detriment of the collective. If my laptop was forced to run on the inefficiencies inherent to the day-to-day communication styles of a typical person, one full of nuance, assumption, and false starts, its processor would slow to a crawl and burn out altogether.

From the Next Web article:

I’ve literally stopped telling little white lies because it’s much easier to be honest. Instead of cancelling a meeting with a PR rep and using the excuse “I’m not feeling well,” I say, “I’m exhausted and taking tomorrow off to go to the beach!” because I know I’ll likely take a picture of my beach trip on Instagram and wouldn’t want to get caught in a lie. And you know what? Most of the time they just say, “Have a great time!”

As a society, we’ve had 10,000 years to choose to be open and honest with each other, and we have generally chosen not to. But now we’re at a point where new technology plays a critical role in our lives, and technology has no use for our half-truths and doublespeak. They are disruptions in the flow of information. As we are all becoming parts of the machine, our relationships with each other are being ground down to purer, more efficient forms so that they can be put to better use.

We are becoming more honest because it increases the speed at which information can travel. We are becoming less private because to withhold valuable knowledge from the rest of the network is to act selfishly. We are becoming more transparent because that is what the evolution of technology asks of us.

Ben Pieratt is the designer and co-founder of The Egotist Network and Svpply. He loves design and he loves the internet. This piece was cross-posted from Ben's blog.

If you watched the debacle on Sunday night, you may wonder what the fuck Homer Simpson has to do with this. If you didn’t, you’re probably still curious.

As I kiss goodbye to last week’s ill-fated attempt to be PG (fuck, shit, piss, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, tits…making up for lost time) I am starting this one with a reference that I think is perfect. And I rarely think things are perfect, as you know.

So, in an episode of The Simpsons, there’s a competition to make a short film. It’s the Springfield Film Festival. Barney Gumble, the town drunk, creates a searing and insightful look at his life as an alcoholic it’s called Pukahontas. It references Godfrey Reggio’s Koyaanisqati and uses music by Philip Glass. Nice.

Hans Moleman plays his film next. He gets hit in the groin by a football. Homer thinks this is fucking hilarious, and he’s the judge.

As he sums it up, he says, “Hmm...Barney's movie had heart, but ‘Football in the Groin’ had a football in the groin.”

That is the whole process of every Pitch result to date this season. Just replace “football in the groin” with “pretty pictures” or “flashy graphics” and you get the idea.

Now, in true Tarantino style, let me back up and give a brief recap of this week’s train wreck before I finish that thought.

The two agencies this week were BooneOakley and Conversation. The former, you’ve all heard of. Or should have. Small shop, off the wall, they did the YouTube-based agency website that caught the attention of so many people. And doing self-promotion that good is hard. The other agency, who the fuck knows. Although they did say, “We keep our finger on the pulse, and we’re typically the first to utilize new forms of media at that point when they’re just right for a particular consumer segment.”

So basically, they are the first to use new tech when it’s not that new any more. Quite a claim.

This week’s stellar client was Popchips. The Popchips people delivered the brief, and that gave David Oakley the chance to really fucking brown-nose the client. Which worked, much to the chagrin of Frank “what happened to my personality” O’Brien. The brief was simple enough — raise awareness of Popchips using non-traditional media.

Anyone else fucking sick of that? Why don’t they just come out and say, “we’d like to be hugely-successful without spending one red cent on media, thanks.”

Once again, the agencies ran back to their prospective homes to start work. Although BooneOakley suffered an immediate setback when their strategic God, a former Nike wunderkind, developed some nasty gallbladder problem and was hospitalized.

While BooneOakley delivered a very laid back brief, with David looking a bit like a deer in the headlights, Conversation’s O’Brien already had his “idea.”

They were going to create the longest, biggest, viral video ever.

Why? Because Popchips wanted something viral. Brilliant, right? Well, not really. Even the people reporting to O’Brien thought it sucked. So, they did it anyway. And that’s all they did. They came up with a fancy name for it — “The Year of Pop” — but it was all just reverse-engineering into a dumb idea. They programmed code. They spent hours and hours on videos and apps. They blew the shit out of it. Did it matter that the idea was weaker than the jokes on Big Bang Theory? Nope, because the client had asked for a viral video.

BooneOakley definitely struggled. The absence of Greg the strategy god was evident, although it pissed me off to no end when some annoying tart said that creatives don’t think strategically. Speak for your own creatives, every shop I’ve ever worked in demanded strategic thinking. If you didn’t do it, you were out.

Finally, after a lot of bizarre brainstorming ideas, they landed on “Make Life Pop” and everything started coming together. From thousands of balloons falling from the sky, filled with bags of Popchips, to a bubble-wrap race track and bags of chips flying off the shelves, they were turning the brand into something fun. Something that actually made life “pop.” And of course, these ideas had all the elements they needed to go viral, without actually saying “we’re viral, come and be in our viral video, it’s viral!”

The Pitch was upon us, and the AMC editing staff did a grand job of fucking our expectations again. I actually said, out loud (to my wife, who was not really paying attention) “that’s it, BooneOakley did the best presentation, they’re going to lose.”

We saw the Popchips clients smiling as the BooneOakley people rolled out the ideas. They really had grasped every element of the brand. It was fun, likeable and very easy to implement.

Then it was Conversation’s turn. Their presentation had all the verve and energy of a dead llama. The technology fucked up. The videos were met with luke-warm smiles. The end result was less than thrilling.

But before they left, the Conversation people said, and I paraphrase, “this is turnkey. We’ve built this whole thing! It’s ready to go. We did all the technical work for free, on our own time! You can say “hit the button” and you have an instant campaign that cost you fuck all!!!”

It was like someone had hit the jackpot at a casino, and a ton of loose change was thumping against the metal.

Naturally, BooneOakley lost. Of course they did. And why?

Well, remember that Homer Simpson reference at the beginning? It’s all about what a client reacts to, and they do not react well to something with heart. They react to “footballs in the groin.” And for them, that meant they had a completed “viral” video ready to go. It took a greater leap to understand BooneOakley’s work, and it would take a long time to develop and execute.

What they don’t take into account, and they never do, is that the general public does not do what advertisers say. They respond to it, but you have to reward them for their time. BooneOakley’s work would have gone viral, not because it asked you to make it viral, but because it was entertaining and disruptive.

Conversation’s work was an order. “Come on, make this viral video go big.” And your reward? Well, you get to be in it. Wow. I, for one, won’t be getting involved. Fuck them, they can’t tell me what to do. I resent them for it, actually.

You cannot force people to make something go viral. You have to set up the dominoes and hope they fall. If you do it well, the chain reaction will set it off. But if you are as transparent as Conversation’s shitty effort, you’ll stumble at the first hurdle.

Oh, and AMC editors. Are you bribing the clients to pick the crappy work? Or are they all really this dumb? Great work needs great clients, and so far, the clients have been pond slime in suits and ties. Fucking annoying.

Coming next week: another agency will get shat on when a bunch of smarmy fucks over-execute a lame idea and get blown by a clueless client.

Felix is a site contributor, ranter and curmudgeon for The Denver Egotist. He’s been in the ad game a long time, but he’s still young enough to know he doesn’t know everything. If he uses the f-bomb from time-to-time, forgive him. Sometimes, when you're ranting, no other word will do. In his spare time, he does not torture small animals. He's been known, on occasion, to drink alcohol by the gallon. Do as he says, not as he does.

“This is it guys…this is where we find out what it’s all about.”

Within 30 seconds, I figured this was going to be a bigger pile of horseshit than the previous episode. I was not disappointed. Cliché after cliché. Homily after tired homily. It was like these guys swallowed the Big Book Of Advertising.

Oh, it’s definitely “dog eat dog out there.” Isn’t it always fellas?

And “we need big ideas.” As opposed to the small ones your whole team were planning on creating, right?

Anyway, I know the producers edit this show with the goal of creating “good TV” not “real TV” so I take it all with a pinch of salt. But still, they said it. Christ.

I think it was when Paul Cappelli, of The Ad Store, uttered the words “we are the most creative agency in the country, if not the world” that I lost the plot and had to contain my explosive laughter. I mean, really. Not W&K? Not Goodby? Nope, it’s The Ad Store.

What have they done that made you go “fuck me, that’s shit hot!” recently? Or ever?

Well, they were the ones responsible for the puerile GoDaddy.com wardrobe malfunction ads, which led to even more crass and pointless titfests. So there’s that. There’s nothing clever about tits. They do create a splash, but so would my knob if I whipped it out in a courtroom on Superbowl Sunday.

Anyway, if The Ad Store was brazenly confident, SK+G were equally so, but with one major difference. The entire place is filled with egomaniacal bullshit artists. And they have two creative leads working on the same job. Clever.

While The Ad Store went straight to work, the dipshits from SK+G started Googling their competition. WTF?!

“Oh guys, we may have to bring our A game, these guys have done some shit.”

Does anyone ever do anything less, unless they want to lose the pitch on purpose? For me, that was indicative of the type of agency SK+G clearly is – overworked, paranoid, lacking true confidence (not the strutting peacock dancing they did on cam) and a basic lack of understanding about pitching. You do your best work; fuck the competition. Even if you’re up against a one-man shop from Leesburg, Virginia, you better bring it.

So, after all that crap, and some drama from the SK+G team involving arguments and microphones, the real work began.

Once again, we were treated to some real pearls of advertising wisdom:

“Be edgy. Viral. Avoid clichés.”

Oh shit. Really? What about all those great clichés that have won pitches in the past, can’t we use them? And edgy, that’s a great idea! Fuck, edgy is as cool as Ice T’s balls!

Even the camera crew started picking up on it, by showcasing close-ups of empty pizza boxes. The old “they are working really hard” cliché.

Anyway, SK+G had some ideas. I use ideas loosely. They included:

Pick It Up America

Trash talk.

Turn Waste Into WOW (the awful idea they end up going with, I shit you not).

It was when some blonde vacuum threw out “Trashformers” that I knew we were in the presence of real genius. Bill Bernbach, eat your dead heart out.

Incidentally, the WOW line came from someone I like to call “smug cunt.”

Is that too harsh? Nah.

He already had a face you wanted to kick with a nailed boot. Then he opened his fucking mouth. He’s everyone you’ve ever hated in your whole fucking life rolled into one miserable body.

Yes, I hated Ray Johnson from the get-go.

I tried to look him up on the SK+G website, but he’s not there. So either he quit, he’s too new for a profile, or he’s too annoying to take out in public. Either way, this guy is slime from the bottom of advertising’s reject pile. He actually made me like the other guy, Doug Hentges, which made me hate him even more.

Over at The Ad Store, it was easy to see they were on a much better track. They had a communication strategy, not just a lame tagline with no legs. And after a lot of back and forth, the big idea was elegant – trash can. I liked it. It’s not exactly Just Do It, but it’s simple enough to catch on and, with the right execution, it could be great.

But the bickering between Cappelli and his beaten-down AD was distracting, they were like some married couple.

Then it turns out they are, almost, so that explains the bitch fits. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, as Seinfeld would say, but that’s quite the dynamic. They say never screw the crew, but if it works for these guys, more power to them. Whatever. After late nights (and early mornings from SK+G…they do love being a sweat shop) the work was done and ready to present.

Cappelli and The Ad Store went first. It was understated, in the same way that white is an understated version of black. I mean Paul, dude, pick up the energy a bit. He read the VO live to the spot they’d put together, and the small elements of guerrilla he had in the presentation were fine. But this was a bit lackluster to say the least. The Waste Management plebs seemed fine with it, apart from one matronly cow who chimed in “so what have you learned about us over this last week?” or something like that. Self-serving clients, they just love to hear about themselves.

SK+G, their pitch was awful. The work, it was ok in places. They used “cutting-edge” snaptags to make posters come to life, but the message and execution stunk more than a yeast infection. Sadly, SK+G possess some snazzy graphics software and a lot of razzle-dazzle presentation tools to give their work some lift, despite the cruddy “WOW” idea.

But it was the man behind that idea, smug cunt, who almost fucked everything up for them. He decided to talk over the main presenter whenever he could.

Everyone I know was screaming “shut the fuck up” at the screen. He didn’t.

At the end of the day, you know what happened. SK+G won, because they had pretty pictures, snazzy gimmicks and are willing to work 24/7 for Waste Management.

The Ad Store, they had a better idea, and it could have gone places, but they just didn’t blow it out enough. Clients like Waste Management can’t image that shit, they need everything wrapped in a bow before they get it. And Cappelli should have known that.

I’m not as irate as I was at the end of episode 1, but it still pisses me off. I suspect the work that wins these pitches will never be the work that I want to win.

Maybe I should stick to watching the Joy of Painting instead.

Felix is a site contributor, ranter and curmudgeon for The Denver Egotist. He’s been in the ad game a long time, but he’s still young enough to know he doesn’t know everything. If he uses the f-bomb from time-to-time, forgive him. Sometimes, when you're ranting, no other word will do. In his spare time, he does not torture small animals. He's been known, on occasion, to drink alcohol by the gallon. Do as he says, not as he does.

Among the thousands who made the mecca to SXSW this year, so too did the grad students from Boulder Digital Works. Here's how they felt when they returned.

SXSW has turned into a marketing shit show — full of distractions and gimmicks to get you to use, try, or buy a product enough so they can claim to be the “breakout success” of SX. Well, I didn’t see any of those this time around. To me the emerging phenomenon is a cultural one — our steady shift into the Sharing Economy, a place where access trumps ownership.

I had the fortune of a front row seat in a panel titled “The AirBnB of Everything: The Growth of P2P Markets,” which went quickly from introductions to a full break down of how to build a P2P marketplace. That’s because the always-energetic ‘Start Up’ crowd had packed the room and we were eager to get a hold of any and all insight into what makes P2P markets click. This market is poised for success because it empowers the consumer, merges seamlessly with your online social presence, and helps build community. It’s not changing what you consume, it’s changing how you consume, and that’s pretty powerful.

-Erik Dreyer, @erikatlarge

What I took away from my sophomore SXSW:
1. Three free pairs of sunglasses
2. Respect for two rooted brands stealing spotlights (i.e. American Express + Nike)
3. Pleasant reminders that industry idols are occasionally humble humans
4. Newfound fondness for David Carr
5. General panel disenchantment
6. Tempered FOMO

What it demanded in return:
1. My non-free sunglasses
2. My American Express

-Steve Dolan, @stvdln

Every choir enjoys a good preaching to, and for this digital advocate, Robbie Whiting’s session ‘We Made This, and It’s Not an Ad’ was a forceful affirmation of the need for a smarter, geekier approach to advertising.

Whiting’s presentation showcased exciting examples of what occurs at the crossroads of advertising and product development – when ad agencies become production houses. Perhaps most enlightening, however, was not the work from some of the most progressive agencies around, but rather, the enthusiastic responses and interesting questions from audience members not previously in the “choir.”

-James Quon, @jumboinc

SXSW was an incredible experience: the panels and speakers were interesting and inspiring, the mixers and parties were jovial and exciting, and the food was delicious and addicting.

The city of Austin, TX was awesome, especially once the weather cleared up, and those Texans showed me great hospitality, kindness, and warmth. THANK YOU!

-Kit Hennessey, @kithennessey

In Austin, I was spit out of an airplane expecting the unexpected. As I tumbled down the rabbit hole, soaking wet at the beginning (it rained a lot), I was bombarded with introductions to the "new" trends, all suffixed with "ify" and "ly."

If I wasn't witnessing Kobiachi break the world record in eating grilled cheese, I was stumbling into conversations with some of my favorite people in the industry, or admiring the homeless who were swimming in the flood of free food and clothes. My SXSW takeaway was learning more about the numerous players in the tech game, despite their poor presentation skills.

-Benton Rochester, @im_Benton

There have been few times in my life where I have been surrounded with consistently excellent content provided by equally excellent speakers. However, there have been even fewer times in my life that I have been defeated by bars. SXSW provided me with those opportunities not just a few times, but everyday, and unfortunately for my liver, every night.

At SXSW Interactive there were too many open discussions, too many open bars, and too many networking opportunities. But hey, those are my favorite kind of problems.

Regarding next year’s SXSW, I must quote a greater man and simply say, "I'll be back."

-Kevin Zengel, @kevinzengel

With everyone vying for attention, your idea has to be truly unique, original and practical for it to stand a chance. No matter who you are or how loud you speak, only the great ideas stand a chance once SXSW is over.

-Dan Nelson, @danimalnelson

As a first timer this year at SXSW I am 110% positive I’ll be back next year. Never before have I been to a place where so many people were eager and open to talking about who they are and what kind of work they’re doing. I didn’t attend a single panel, but instead, traveled around the city going to coffee shops, lunches, and parties interacting and making connections.

Some of the individuals I had the opportunity of meeting work at Modus Operandi, B-Reel, TAXI, Bitorrent, Short List, W+K, and AKQA. Having the advantage of personally knowing the people you’re sending your resume to when your looking for a career can go a long way.

-Matt O'Donnell, @odog

I arrived in Austin, Texas not knowing what to expect. Having spoken to many SXSW veterans I was prepared for a week of mingling, drinking, and panels, and that's exactly what I got. Overall, the experience was like non-other. I met with people in all strata of the digital world and ate and drank like a king.

I would describe the event as a congruence of people interested in many of the same things, looking to the future of media, and out to have a good time. 2012 will definitely not be my last visit to SXSW.

-Lee Riley, @leerileydesigns

As a result of my love for all things involving both digital and physical realms, I absolutely loved the Frog kickoff party. They were using Arduino and Flash to connect two Lightcycles to screens for each player and a larger screen for the audience to view. While that was my favorite event, they also had life-size robot boxing powered by Xbox Kinect.

Being an avid gamer and never having the opportunity to enjoy any sort of conference or convention, ScreenBurn was a lot of fun for me. I was able to check out around 10 video games - give or take - that have not yet been released. I was also able to demo a $7,000 PC gaming setup with 3 monitors covering my entire peripheral. I even picked up some killer art.

-Micheal Ladt, @MichaelLadt

The sound bite from my six-day stay came as I nestled into my seat in the middle row on my flight home. I glanced out the window, then to the woman’s computer perched on the tray table beside me. On the screen was a quote: Stop trying to create the next Twitter and start becoming the first you.

As a SXSW first-timer, I was wowed by the incredible amount of brainpower camping out around Austin. New apps like Highlight, Vibop 2.0, and Maaii mean smart peeps somewhere are putting their heads together to build useful platforms.

The icing on the cake, though, was the Jane McGonigals, whose creation SuperBetter uses science and gamification to help folks heal from a variety of psychological and physiological ailments. Or, the Al Gores and Sean Parkers, encouraging crowds to employ technology to “OccupyDemocracy.” Or, the Amber Cases, working to ensure technology becomes invisible and serves humanity (and not the other way around).

Ultimately, smart people don’t just make apps. They make a difference.

-Dave Laskarzewski, @70percentcool

Baratunde Thurston, Director of Digital for The Onion, hilariously discussed the role of technology and satire in transforming the world around us. Programs like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report – though they appear playful on the surface – effectively use comedy to cut directly to the emotional core of very non-comedic issues. And it’s not just in the U.S. that people are using satire to address political and social issues. Thanks to the growing accessibility of technology around the globe, independent political satire programs in highly censored countries such as China, Nigeria and Venezuela have become increasingly popular online. In the end, Thurston said, “change is constant.” So, when government institutions and corporations fail to lead sensibly, it’s these “sacred clowns” that remain.

-Nathan Igdaloff, @igdaloff

Despite Pinterest taking the award for "Breakout Digital Trend," it kept a relatively low profile at this year's SXSWi. No Pinterest flash mob. No Pinterest shot girls. No free grilled cheese sandwiches with the Pinterest logo emblazoned upon the bread. The one widely publicized Pinterest event — an interview with co-founder and CEO Ben Silbermann — was actually a late edition to the jam-packed schedule of speakers and events.

Since our startup is chomping at the bit for Pinterest to release their much-awaited API, you can bet I was first in line. Not literally — I barely got a seat. Of all the talks I sat (sometimes slept) through, this one was by far the most attended. And I knew I was sitting amongst eager ears — entrepreneurs like myself waiting to capitalize on this new social phenomenon.

-Lindsey Jones, @lindseyejones

A perfect example of the random wonderfulness that is SXSW occurred on an overcast afternoon in the GroupMe tent across from the convention center. By downloading the GroupMe app in person or showing that you had it downloaded on your phone, one was allowed access to free grilled cheese and beer until supplies ran out. Fantastic.

The afternoon took a turn for the incredible when we were informed that Takeru Kobayashi, an international competitive eating champion, would be attempting a grilled cheese challenge no less than 5 feet from where we were standing. Moments later we stood cheering in disbelief as 13 grilled cheese sandwiches disappeared in 60 seconds and a new world record was set. Photos and videos from the event could not be shared fast enough via text, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and whatever else we could think of.

Was the event inspirational? Possibly for some. Life-changing? No. Adrenaline-pumping? Surely. Memorable? Absolutely.

-Michael Lanning, @mrlanning

I wonder if I've missed the boat on SXSW. Don't get me wrong, it’s a blast, but the parasites of tech are starting to swarm. This alcohol-fueled party felt more like a swag fest than progressive endeavor.

The panels were interesting, but I couldn't help but feel I'd gain more by checking my Google Reader, so I could actually have a chance to reflect on perspectives rather than being immediately distracted by free gear.

-Davis Godbout, @dmgodbout

I may have a slight obsession with food, travel, and the show The Layover. But that isn't the reason why Anthony Bourdain's talk got me going. Tony and his TV crew spoke about how they utilize Twitter, Facebook and blogs to communicate to their followers. The message I took away was that not everything needs to be so sensored. They swear and put up drunk tweets - nothing is really off limits when it comes to social media. And even if your company is a little more reserved, you can still have fun with it, just keep in mind who your audience is. The more exciting you are, the more response you will get from your followers, which builds a stronger loyalty around your brand.

-Kiley Story, @kileystory