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Iran is currently undergoing a revolution. If you want to read more about it check out Twitter. (Media is also undergoing a revolution. Draw the parallels, yadda yadda.) I'm not going to talk about how the web is changing everything. I just want to point out an observation about the Iranian situation. It isn't news to the Iranian people that their government hasn't been ideal, but they've been apathetic, and too tired, to rise up and do something about it. This is the tipping point.

In general, most sites aim to convert visitors into sales, subscriptions, registrations and requests for quotes, but there's one more conversion point that I think is often overlooked in web design and interactive strategy. That conversion point is sharing. Sharing is crucial to online success, not only to bloggers and other "social media" types, but really to most people doing business online. In fact, most bloggers over emphasize other conversion points such as subscriptions, and leave the potential for sharing largely untapped.

Some of the best examples of sharing options as conversion points are the major video sites Youtube and Vimeo. These sites have developed platforms based off of sharing, and their visual, easy to find, and easy to use options are a good model for building shareable content across the board. Of course, building shareable content and building for content to be shared are two different things. The echo chamber is full of people saying that they key to online success is making great content. Well, what is great content?

The hardest part of being a salesman is getting your foot in the door. The same goes for your brand. The hardest part is getting your customer's attention.

Sometimes you have to tell a story to get your foot in the door. Other times a potential customer will just welcome you into their world. It may be because they're nice, or perhaps you're good looking, or maybe they know your mom. Either way, you've made it pass the threshold. You got their attention.

Now, you might think the second scenario is easier because you're already inside and it required the least amount of effort. However, you're wrong. With the second scenario the pressure is on. They've already showed enough trust to hear what you've got to say. And if you say the wrong thing, you'll get kicked out. Straight back to the curb.

Our monthly book club is a fun way to stop, breath, and enjoy each other's company. We also get in some quality peer learning. Our book choice for the month of May was Hey Whipple, Squeeze This: A Guide To Creating Great Ads by Luke Sullivan. Sullivan draws on a depth of knowledge gathered over nearly two decades of experience in the industry and a dictionary full of wise words from advertising legends and contemporaries alike. A few of the chapters (television and radio) seem a little out of place in an interactive agency, but ultimately every chapter of the book had some valuable thoughts on the creative process.

From a business perspective, Hey Whipple is definitely worth reading; however, I'd like to touch upon the broader value of the book -- learning how to think creatively.

Have you ever wondered why sporks never made it into sophisticated culture? In my opinion, they really do make for a better tool than using both a fork and a spoon. So why haven't they grabbed more than the cheap and efficient market? I think sporks need to tell a different story.