Super8: Eight intriguing articles from September.

It’s often the small and subtle changes that have the biggest impact. Whether that’s in life or in business.

Curated by Martin Sprong, this month we deep dive into the role of persuasion techniques, how it relates to clickbait and why you should keep challenging your mind—for the better.

So, what are you waiting for? It’s time to dive right into Super8 in September.

1. An update to how Google generates web page titles.

• Read the full article here.
• Article by: Kristen McCormick.
• Contributed by: Kurt Smith.

Google has once again rolled out another update. But this time it’s focused on the ever-important ‘page title’. Until now, website owners were in control of how their page titles were displayed in search results.

However, that changed last month when Google announced a new system of generating titles for web pages. But why, you might ask? Well, because the original HTML title tags are often automated and don’t always describe a page well—so Google is making use of the text that appears when a web page is visited.

In the worldwide web where developing quality content is of the utmost importance, make sure your content contains the right semantic queries Google can pick from.

2. How to avoid Twitter’s latest accessibility mistakes.

• Read the full article here.
• Article by: Sheri Byrne-Haber.
• Contributed by: Timocles Copland.

When it comes to website accessibility, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. And with accessible websites and applications becoming increasingly common, it’s important that platforms are created for all users, by all users.

When building and creating accessible websites, we tend to rely on tools and software to assess accessibility, but sighted keyboard users with disabilities can sometimes be left out of the design process.

So, when creating a platform accessible for everyone, there are a few ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ that we can learn from the Twitter team to ensure we’re continually building, and designing, for the better.

3. Why your team needs psychological safety.

• Read the full article here.
• Article by: Laura Delizonna.
• Contributed by: Isabella Murphy.

Whether it’s an elite sports team or a high-functioning organisation, high-performing teams tend to have one thing in common: psychological safety.

Creativity, risk-taking, speaking your mind—these behaviours help build on positive emotions and affords teams with the space to solve complex problems, foster cooperative relationships and lead to market breakthroughs.

For a team to achieve success in the workplace, it’s important that everyone is on the same wavelength and feels safe enough to take risks and speak their mind. Here, Laura Delizonna explores the concepts of psychological safety and how to increase it in your own team.

4. How to learn stuff quickly.

• Read the full article here.
• Article by: Josh W Comeau.
• Contributed by: Matt Agar.

Do you sometimes feel pressure to keep up with all the information out there? Do you always feel like you need to learn new things?

Well, don’t worry. You’re not alone. Whilst this article might be a focus for developers, it highlights several key tactics that everyone can benefit from when it comes to learning new things.

Fail and cultivate a growth mindset, remember ‘anything forever-ish’, play a game of tic-tac-toe, and learn to learn quickly with Josh W Comeau.

5. Challenging your mindset for the better.

• Listen to the podcast here. 
• Podcast by: Adam Grant.
• Contributed by: Mike McKusker.

In a world that is rapidly changing, it can sometimes be hard to recognise it.

But as mindset coach and organisational psychologist Adam Grant reminds us, the only way to keep up is to continually rethink our assumptions.

The power to change and challenge ourselves is in our hands.

In this podcast, Grant provides us with a model for how to live at the edge of our comfort zones and grasp the challenges that lie ahead.

6. How to use Cialdini’s 6 Principles of Persuasion.

• Read the full article here. 
• Article by: Marc Schenker.
• Contributed by: Martin Sprong.

Internet marketing and persuasion go hand-in-hand according to Dr. Robert Cialdini.

Why? Because conversions are all about persuasion and they can influence a large part of click behaviour, especially when it comes to Google Ads.

Freshen up on these persuasion techniques to help elevate performance and convert site visitors to customers.

7. Clickbait is unreasonably effective.

• Watch the video here. 
• Article by: Veritasium.
• Contributed by: Daniel Banik.

Have you ever clicked on the title of an online article or video and the content was different to what you had expected? Well, that’s clickbait.

In some cases, clickbait might be effective, but we can argue that it might not always be ethical given it takes away our ability to make an informed decision.

This video from Veritasium explains the concept of clickbait, ethical approaches, and highlights the impacts that small changes can have on view performance.

8. Let’s redefine ‘Productivity’ for the hybrid era.

• Read the full article here. 
• Article by: Jamie Teeven.
• Contributed by: Sarah El-Atm.

It’s fair to say that the last 18 months haven’t been easy for many of us.

For some, working from home has been a blessing, even more productive. While many others may struggle to say the same.

But what is productivity anyway?

In this article, Jaime Teevan shares how we can all embrace a more expansive view of productivity in a hybrid world — one that promotes well-being, collaboration, and innovation for you and your team.