Tag: wall street journal

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You betcha! Wisconsin ranks high in Agreeableness, Extraversion

Many of my clients are from outside the Midwest. I’ve always thought they chose us over other marketing technology firms because the home of Laverne and Shirley is thought of as hard-working. Turns out, they just like that Wisconsinites are push-overs. According to research reported in the Wall Street Journal, Wisconsin rates high for both Extraversion and Agreeableness. Surprisingly, we’ve only in the middle, in terms of Conscientiousness. Here’s the map, with results for Wisconsin showing higher ratings closer to zero:

Wisconsin's Personality Scores

I wish I could say Wisconsinites, in most cases, are open-minded. Not so, says the numbers. But I’d like to think that our offices being in Milwaukee and Madison means we buck the state-wide trend.

Don’t forget MOCTOctoberfest!

Speaking of Wisconsin, if you’re in the Milwaukee area, don’t forget that tomorrow night we’re having a Milwaukee Interactive Marketing social event, at MOCT. Read all about it and plan on attending!

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Boost your office productivity with a bigger screen

Over the years, many of my co-workers have used two monitors to get work done. Others have swapped “standard issue” monitors for larger ones. Their explanation is always the same. Information work is all about work space real estate, and these set-ups make them more productive. Evidence has suggested to me that they’re right. Now from the Wall Street Journal comes further validation.

This piece reports on a study that was financed by NEC, but vetted by a more objective body (the university’s research board):

Researchers at the University of Utah tested how quickly people performed tasks like editing a document and copying numbers between spreadsheets while using different computer configurations: one with an 18-inch monitor, one with a 24-inch monitor and with two 20-inch monitors. Their finding: People using the 24-inch screen completed the tasks 52% faster than people who used the 18-inch monitor; people who used the two 20-inch monitors were 44% faster than those with the 18-inch ones.

The conclusion is a worker could save upwards of 2.5 hours a day by using a bigger monitor. This is far more than I would have expected.

Do you use a monitor that’s around 24-inch? Or two? If so, I assume you have the free time to comment. As for me? I’m writing this on my lunch break, with little time to spare. I need a bigger monitor baaaddd!