Study: Facebook, YouTube at work make better employees

One of our other reporters printed out a copy of this story and handed it to one of the bosses.

Caught Twittering or on Facebook work? It’ll make you a better employee, according to an Australian study that shows surfing the Internet for fun during office hours increases productivity.

The University of Melbourne study showed that people who use the Internet for personal reasons at work are about 9 percent more productive that those who do not.

Study author Brent Coker, from the department of management and marketing, said “workplace Internet leisure browsing,” or WILB, helped to sharpened workers’ concentration.

“People need to zone out for a bit to get back their concentration,” Coker said. “Short and unobtrusive breaks, such as a quick surf of the Internet, enables the mind to rest itself, leading to a higher total net concentration for a days’ work, and as a result, increased productivity,” he said.

According to the study of 300 workers, 70%  of people who use the Internet at work engage in WILB.

Among the most popular WILB activities are searching for information about products, reading online news sites, playing online games and watching videos on Youtube.

“Firms spend millions on software to block their employees from watching videos, using social networking sites or shopping online under the pretence that it costs millions in lost productivity,” said Coker. “That’s not always the case.”

However, Coker said the study looked at people who browsed in moderation, or were on the Internet for less than 20 percent of their total time in the office.

“Those who behave with Internet addiction tendencies will have a lower productivity than those without,” he said.

 

Read more: Facebook, YouTube at work make better employees: study

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Twitchhiking: Man hitchhikes across globe using only Twitter [Video]

This is a fun story!

Forget sticking out your thumb to hitch a ride. One man is making his way around the world using a new fangled way of hitch-hiking. He’s getting help via twitter. He calls it twitch-hiking.

Paul Smith started out in the United Kingdom and on Thursday is in Wichita thanks to some help from complete strangers.

“There are some very generous people who want to see this happen,” said Smith.

A freelance journalist from England, Smith happened to come up with the idea last month. The plan is to get from his hometown to a small island off the coast of New Zealand in 30 days relying only on the help from people who use twitter.

“I just put a note out saying this is something I want to try and that I need some help if this is going to work ,” said Smith.

And support him the tweeps have.

After a few days in Europe, someone bought him a flight to New York City. Then he traveled to Washington D.C., across the country to Chicago, onto Kansas City and then drove into Wichita Thursday night.

“I thought it would work. I hoped it would work and there’s been a couple of shaky moments where I thought it was all going to fall apart for me but it’s happening and it’s proved my faith in twitter,” said Smith.

The twitter faithful are invigorated by his test. Carrie Follis is putting him up in her house during his Wichita stopover.

“I called my husband and I said, “What do you think about having a total stranger stay at our house tonight?’” she said. “He was, like, ‘That might be kind of cool’”

After a night in Wichita, Smith’s next stop is in Austin, Texas. He hopes to make it to the West Coast by next week and hopefully from there to his final destination.

“I honestly believe through the power of twitter that somehow, and I don’t know how, I will travel across the Pacific. I don’t know how it’s going to happen but I think it will,” said Smith.

Smith is also using this journey to draw attention to his favorite charity. To find out more about that and his trip in general you can go to his site on Facebook.

Read more and see this story: Man Hitchhikes Across Globe Using Only Twitter

You can follow his travels on his blog as well: Twitchhiker Blog

Remember you can follow the All Positive News Blog on Twitter as well: All Positive News on Twitter

‘Twittering’ encouraged at church [Video]

The Mars Hill Church in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood is not your grandma’s church. On Sunday, the pastor’s sermon was being broadcast on large video screens to accommodate his laryngitis and the congregants in church were broadcasting on their iPhones.

They weren’t talking, but “Twittering,” typing in brief thoughts or messages for their friends to read in real time.

“How does the service impact them, what does worship feel like to them and its a good way for them to kind of tell their friends what church is about without their friends even  coming in the building,” aid Kyle Firstenberg, Mars Hill Campus Administrator.

Twittering goes on throughout the entire service, with the messages, or Tweets, popping up on Facebook pages or the church’s official Twitter page.

Lichlin Payne is from Australia and is spending a year visiting numerous churches around the states.

He enjoys being able to Twitter his religious experience with far away friends, and says church etiquette hasn’t disappeared, its just evolved.

Read more and watch this story: ‘Twittering’ encouraged at Seattle church

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Photo: Flickr user eyeonized