Yammer-dabba doo! Why Yammer is great.

Sorry for the pun…

I was dubious about Yammer.com when I was invited to use it. I like social networking and I think it’s very important, but this doesn’t mean signing up to every website. Superficially, Yammer is similar to Twitter. Only it’s closed off and so apparently less useful…or so I thought! Actually, it’s different to Twitter and useful in a different way.

We’re using it at The Linc. Gradually, each team member is joining and I’m seeing how good it is. It’s like real-time email. Google Wave isn’t a patch on this.

Firstly you set up an organisation and invite your colleagues to it. Then you create individual groups within that organisation. For example, our organisation is The Linc and it contains groups such as News, Culture, etc. The relevant people can join each group and have discussions on a feed of updates. Once you’ve set up, here’s why I think it’s great.

1) It’s private. No-one but those working in your organisation can view it, which is one of the best ways in which it’s different from Twitter, and intentionally so. You can talk openly about what you want, without the fear of anyone who shouldn’t be seeing it catching a glimpse.

2) You can post updates on the generic feed for the whole of the organisation, so everyone can see what you’re writing. Alternatively, you can target the relevant people by using the groups. What makes this different and much more usable than email for contacting colleagues is that Yammer uses a Twitter-style feed. This makes discussions much more open and fluid than emails. It’s easier to see who’s said what before and I think this will increase input from everybody. It’s a lot more interactive.

3) There’s no character limit, but given its format you feel inclined to being succinct. This may cut out a lot of wordiness you can get in emails. Equally, you’re not restricted.

4) You can comment on updates, which means, unlike Twitter, you don’t end up with a page-long stream of @replys. Kind of like commenting on statuses and wall posts on Facebook.

5) You can send direct messages so you can hide anything that you don’t want in the open.

6) You can attach files to updates, meaning you can easily share documents.

Yammer takes the best features of other social networking sites and combines them to make a useful business tool. Try it and see. If you use Yammer and think I’ve missed anything out, hit me with it in the comments.