Digital Natives: Creators and Participants not marketing targets

Jeremiah again with a great blog post about Digital Natives a presentation that Dr. Urs Gasser [website and twitter account] from Harvard’s Berkman Center delivered on Digital Natives. Makes me think and analyze the impact in companies of all sizes and across all markets. I’ve extracted some of the points he makes and added my point of view and how it affects companies.

By far, one of the most important aspects of this generation is the cultural shift. The rise of different racial groups on the internet (marked by the quick increase particularly of the young latino population) mixed with increasing acceptance that digital natives have a strong voice online will reshape the way marketing is tailored and delivered. We are beyond a push-only methodology. The walls are coming down.

Here is an excerpt from Jeremiah’s post to give you an idea of the behavior of a Digital Native.

1. The number of hours that digital natives spend will spend online by age 20 is 20,000. This generation breaths digital. That is double the number of hours Malcolm Gladwell cites in his book Outliers.
2. They interact with the peers across the globe: This
   impacts employers, brands, teachers, parents, as this first generation
   enters the workforce.
3. Multiple identities, personal and social, shared online and offline
   (blurring): Online representation is the same as physical
   representation: what your clothes, friends, vehicles say about you.
4. Extensive disclosure of personal data: 35% of girls in US are
   writing a blog vs 20% boys. Opportunity for HR departments to learn
   more about their employees, but guess what? They Google you too.
5. Culture of sharing: The default behavior is information sharing, not
   only do they have the right to speak, but to be heard. Risk: breach of
   confidentiality is hip, digital natives are fans of wikileaks.
6. Creators, no longer passive users: This generation creates their own
   content and shares their opinion online, see the Forrester’s social
   Technographics to learn about the data.
7. Peer collaboration, online activism: They often experience work with
   community builders, and are responsive to intrinsic motivations.

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