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Article Marketing / Communications 2 min read

Wednesday Buzz: Here’s What They Want to Call Generation Z

Find the term "millennials" an annoying catch-all? Brace yourself: It's nothing compared to the term being used for the next generation. Also: how one company found a stat-laden blog headline 40 percent more successful than one without the data.

Heads up: this content is over 5 years old, so some information may be out of date.

If you clicked on this feeling you finally had a handle on millennials, we have some bad news for you.

There’s another generation coming up—and this one has interacted with digital devices of every shape and size since birth, basically.

There’s even a term for this first generation of digital natives that may elicit a strong opinion from you. Wait for it 


“Screenagers.”

That’s the term Maclean‘s Anne Kingston uses  (opens in a new tab) in her piece on the rise of kids old enough to matter but young enough that they weren’t alive when Netscape was a thing. Many of these kids have lived without dial-up. Think about that.

And get ready for them to become your members someday. (ht Next Draft  (opens in a new tab))

Infographic of the Day

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Our pals at Buffer know a thing or two about social media (via their lightweight update-scheduling service) and insight (via their well-written blogs). But it turns out they’re also experts at writing good headlines.

And after a recent test, they discovered something interesting. When they put a typical headline on one of those blog posts  (opens in a new tab), the story did OK. But it did way better when the headline was changed slightly to add a data point.

The takeaway, according to the company’s Alex Turnbull  (opens in a new tab)? Evidence that you’re right is more effective than simply saying you’re right.

“Everyone has opinions. Especially on the internet,” he writes. “Want yours to stand out? Give people a reason to believe you. While a story can make your post more persuasive and memorable, data can often accomplish the same thing.”

And as you can see in the graphic above, he has the data to back it up.

Other good reads

If you’re gonna experiment on your audience, at least be honest about it. That’s dating site OkCupid’s strategy  (opens in a new tab), though the site’s Christian Rudder didn’t reveal the experiments till after the fact. That approach has gotten mixed  (opens in a new tab) reviews  (opens in a new tab).

Dropbox may be great for syncing files, but don’t consider it a backup system by any means. Here’s one horror story  (opens in a new tab).

“What five blogs do you read each day?” If you haven’t interviewed for a job lately, expect a question like this when you do, SCD Group’s Steve Drake says  (opens in a new tab).

(iStock/Thinkstock)

Ernie Smith

Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now.

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Tags: #digital natives #headlines #Membership #Social Media

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