I was listening to the Web2.0 podcast that featured an interview with Yammer founder, David Sacks. I had heard of Yammer as a buzz word, but after listening to the podcast it really intrigues me.
In brief, Yammer is very similar to twitter. Some may argue that it is a direct rip off of the microblogging web app. It’s a microblogging app. You can post up to a certain amount of characters. Twitter is geared towards anyone talking about anything. Yammer is trying to appeal to the business side of the world. The model is to register with your business email. You then become part of that domain’s group. This allows you to set up groups, and ultimately share corporate ideas and communique.
As mentioned in the podcast episode, had Yammer come before email I think it would have been more accepted. And lets keep in mind that Yammer is not to replace email, but compliment it by reducing mass forwards/replies and uncertain group emails because you’re not sure who would cover the subject at hand. It can also be administered with better control. Email can be sent to anyone. Have that corporate secret in the body? Guess what, that can be sent right out the door with very little knowledge from executives. How’s that for scary? Yammer is for the corporate users and is not ‘sent’ anywhere. It’s almost like a bulletin board system with groups. More static, without the message being flown all over the web-o-sphere. Liability itself would be more controlled. Something inappropriate gets posted and you can delete it. Try recovering that email and you’ll see the benefit.