I use Twitter all the time to stay connected to the blogging community and to track what’s being said about my startup. When I first saw Yammer, I could see it’s use in a flat company with little hierarchy. People would be able to freely communicate with each other and have fun while doing it. However, I do not see it being readily applied to large suit-and-tie corporate firms.

For example, I don’t see the consulting firm that I used to work at using Yammer at all. We already had instant massaging across the whole office, and our cubicles and teams were close enough to the point that we can just walk over and update each other face to face. There was a big hierarchy at the consulting firm, and I never felt like managers wanted to know how I “felt” after the meeting.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t see large suit-and-tie firms using Yammer for a very long time.

- Jun Loayza

I also log into twitter from my PC or phone when I have a spare minute to chat with friends and share info (like when waiting for the bus on the way to work!)

I haven’t tried yammer yet, which is why I didn’t write about my personal experience of using it. I was researching it for use at work and realise that it would be a great tool for (in house) management who all share a common email address however this does come at a cost.

Because many of the people I work with are contractors and they have varied email addresses Yammer tick all the boxes.

Graham, I agree there is no right or wrong way to use twitter. I find than many of the sites you tweet end up in my delicious bookmarks and I thank you for your help and friendship. I am new to twitter and you are one of the people who has really made me feel part of the community. Keep up the good work on wearejustcreative.com.

Bob, thanks for sharing your experience. How do you manage Twitter in house, do you keep separate work and personal twitter accounts etc?

In our standup meetings, I ask three questions:

What did you do (or finish) yesterday?
What will you work on today?
Any issues blocking progress?

I expect that twitter/yammer will satisfy those questions along the way for the entire team.

It does reduce email clutter.

–David

Ofcourse people don’t really care about my pills, drinking and shower habits, just a bit of lighthearted banter.

Of which Twitter is perfect for, there is no right or wrong way to use Twitter. I am myself pretty much on Twitter, and if I feel happy im happy, if i feel angry then I’ll be angry. It’s my voicebox, and for the most part, people like to see what makes other people tick.

If you don’t want ideal chitchat, then Twitter maybe a frustrating place to be if you end up following the chitter chatter type. BUt there are plenty of professionals who use it to boost their business. I use it to market ImJustCreative and We AreJustCreative, so its business and personal, and I feel I have the balance just right.

After all, if a follower doesn’t like what they see, they can unfollow. Simple.

It’s just looking closer into people you choose to shadow, take more time in researching the right individuals. Which is easily done to be honest.

The example twitter in your post is precisely what has given me pause about joining the conversation (“… just taken my pills, swallowed pint of water & gonna get showered …”). I find myself wondering if I have time to filter through chats like this. The information on yammer is inviting. Do you use both tools? The buzz seems to surround twitter. Do you think many established learning professionals will make the transition to yammer?

I recently asked Michele Martin if there might be a place to discuss twitter at Work Literacy Web 2.0 for Learning Professionals, considering its popularity. She said it was likely to come up during the final week of the course.

–David