YAMMER
Master guidelines
Overview
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9.
Understanding What is Yammer?
Getting set up on Yammer
Understanding the basics: how it works / the system
Working out the basics: how to make it work for you /
your practice
Working it out further: how to make it work for us all
/ our Yammer etiquette
Working it up and out: for advanced users …
At events – Yammer workshop etiquette
Some examples: Yammer use cases
Additional info: troubleshooting, guidelines & help
1. What is Yammer?
1. What is Yammer
• Yammer is a corporate social network
• It was originally set up to help organizations:
– Share information among staff and partners
(updates, current work, important outputs etc.)
– Discuss different issues outside email
– Plan events
– Network / build a team (through conversations,
likes and praises)
2. Getting set up
2. Getting set up
• Create an account (on invitation)
• Update your profile
– Include your center name in the
job title field in your profile
– Add a picture of yourself
• Set your notifications and direct messages to get
for each network you are part of
• Set your applications and preferences
• In details…
Create an account
(based on an invitation)
Accept the
invitation
Create an account
Fill out
all the
details
Choose a
strong
password
which you
can
remember
Indicate your centre /
organization in the
job title field
Then press
‘next’
Create an account
Join groups
which you
think will be
useful to you /
where you
would like to
engage with
others
Don’t start a
group straight
away, see if
existing ones
cater for your
need
Then press
‘next’
Create an account
Add a photo
(from your
files) to give
yourself a face
for others. It
makes
Yammer more
‘human’.
Create an account
You may (you don’t have
to) decide to download and
use Yammer via the
desktop application
Create an account
Check the welcome
message you receive upon
entering Yammer
Create an account
You are now set and ready to use Yammer!
Update your profile
(mention your CG center and position)
1. Click
my profile
2. Edit
profile
Include your center
name in the job
title field in your
profile
1. Click Basics
(while editing
your profile)
2. Choose a
picture file on
your computer
Add a picture of yourself
New notifications are displayed in this icon
1. Click
Notifications
(while editing
your profile)
3. Select what
changes you
want to be
notified about
Set your notifications
(per network)
2. Select digests’
frequency
(summary of
Yammer network
messages by
email)
What direct messages
do I want to receive?
1. Click
‘subscribe to
feeds’ to open
this menu
2. Select what
messages to
receive by
email or else
Select your applications (phone etc.)
and other preferences
3. Understanding the basics: how it
works / the system
Where you can check all
networks you belong to
Where you read
Where you share updates
important
(simple updates, polls,
notifications
praises, questions and events)
and private
Where you find & can
messages
edit your profile
Where it all happens:
the news stream
(updates from the
people you follow)
3. Basics: How it works
(the system)
• Work across closed groups (CGIAR only) and open
networks
• Follow others to see their updates
• Share updates about interesting work, links, questions,
events, documents etc.
• Send each other direct messages for private
conversations
• Upload files, pictures, videos, add links, and create
pages (to keep important information)
• Follow the flow of messages on various media: on the
web, via email, on a smartphone…
Work across open networks and
closed groups (CGIAR only)
Follow others to see their updates
(select who you follow!)
BE SELECTIVE
WHO TO
FOLLOW
Select who you follow
BE SELECTIVE
WHO TO
FOLLOW
Share updates about interesting work,
polls, links, questions, events etc
Send each other direct messages for
private conversations
1. Select who you want to write
to (multiple recipients possible)
2. Type your message
in the main box
Upload files, pictures, videos and create
pages (to keep important information)
Create pages (to keep important
information)
2. Create a page
1. Select ‘pages’
in your apps
menu
Follow the flow of messages on various media:
on the web, via email, on a smartphone…
Through various ‘applications’
(under your profile)
3. Basics: How it works
(the system)
• Use Topics (with # e.g. #innovation) to find all content
and conversations related to specific topics
• Notify People can be notified when they’re mentioned
with @ (e.g. @eleborgne). Just typing name suffices
(Yammer turns them into links)
• Find all content collections links, topics, files etc. in
one place
And again:
• Having an updated profile matters to know who is who
– update your profile!
• Notifications help manage traffic: adjust your account’s
notifications for each of your networks
Find
common
topics
Use Topics (keywords) They help find
all content related to specific topics.
Add a topic to a message with # (e.g.
#Yammer)
Notify people when it concerns them
Find all content collections
in one place
4. Working out the basics: how to
make it work for you / your practice
4. Basics: How to make it work
(your practice)
• Active listening: Follow and learn
– Follow people that matter, that you know or like
• If you follow people you will receive emails when they post
(change your notification settings?)
• Follow specific people rather than everyone?
– Join networks (open) and groups (only for CGIAR staff)
that are relevant for you
– Follow the flow of updates
– Ask yourself what you like and don’t like about it:
Reflect, learn new stuff and learn how to learn more…
4. Basics: How to make it work
(your practice)
• Active engagement: Engage and converse
– Post (relevant) updates on new documents,
events, ideas
– Share summaries of important events you’re
attending
– Ask questions, seek feedback and ideas
– React to what others post: reply, like, (very)
occasionally praise people you admire
– Make Yammer a conversation space!
5. Working it out further: how to
make it work for us all /
Our Yammer etiquette
5. How to make it work for us all
(Our Yammer etiquette)
• Lurking (active listening) is normal
• But for Yammer to work we must all engage
• It requires trust (in oneself and others)
– Get trained or coached?
• We need to understand the value to invest in
Yammer
• But the value comes from practice and
feedback
5. How to make it work for us all
(Our Yammer etiquette)
•
•
•
•
Do’s
Update on activities,
resources, events
Comment others’
work
Ask questions
Be constructive, not
condescending
Don’ts
• Post irrelevant status
updates – I am eating
now, I just had a
fabulous…
• ‘Like’ resources without
reading them first and
providing comments why
you like them
• Accuse or blame people
publicly
5. How to make it work for us all
(Our Yammer etiquette)
•
•
•
•
•
Do’s
Post short, crisp, focused
updates
Follow Yammer updates
at least (digest!)
Provide feedback to
improve Yammer
Post regularly
Invite others to post and
help them
Don’ts
• Monopolize the space
• Be impatient: it takes
time to master
Yammer (alone and
collectively)
• Condemn Yammer
without giving it a try
5. How to make it work for us all
(Our Yammer etiquette)
• Yammer is only one of many engagement
tools
– It’s good for conversations, questions, reactions
– It’s not so powerful for filing documents,
workflows, coordinated work (use wikis instead!)
• It works more powerfully in combination with
other tools (blogs, wikis, CG Space, Twitter,
FlickR, YouTube) and link from Yammer to the
other tools
6. Working it up and out:
for advanced users
6. For advanced users
Help yourself: help others creatively
• Provide important information on specific pages?
• Develop simple and useful tutorials for your team?
• Buddy someone else on Yammer?
• Coach your colleagues?
• Organize Yam-Jams?
• Consider creating groups?
• Assess the use and usefulness of Yammer?
• Invite others to use Yammer (if CG staff, invite them to
the main CGIAR network before any other network!)
7. At events
Yammer workshop etiquette
How to use yammer for workshops
• Yammer is a good tool for synthesizing
information from workshops and sharing with
those who are not there.
• However, many scientists are concerned that
there words will be taken out of context or
repeated.
• Therefore, the focus of using yammer should
be on synthesizing workshops on Daily/half
daily basis
Do’s and Don’ts
Do’s
• Provide a half-daily or daily
synthesis of 1 to 2 posts
• 1 post 1 thought
• Summarize and synthesize
into crisp summaries
• Refer to notes on another
page, wiki or document
Don’ts
• Posts should not be long. 45 sentences maximum
• If you want to post more
use the comment tool or
make another post
• Do not transcribe verbatim
what people say
• Don’t quote people
• Do not make Yammer the
‘notes’ for the meeting.
Short synthesis
posts are good
Don’t make
too long
Do not quote
people or
provide notes
of meetings
8. Some examples?
Yammer case studies
Yammer use case: network
• Nile Basin Development Challenge (CPWF):
Working together as one program
– 5 projects under the banner with different aims
– All communicating via Yammer and sharing
important issues for all
– Connecting with the program wiki and blog to
keep everyone up to date
– Summaries of events on the wiki
– Mapping important partners and events
Yammer use case: network
• Comms4Uptake network (CPWF): a peersupport network to find concrete solutions
– Monthly peer assists around practical problems
faced by one person across 5 basins
– Full documentation and planning on Yammer
– Finding solutions that help everyone
– Sharing challenges and ideas around ‘engaging
research comms process for engaging science’
– Organizing a series of online meetings to plan
documentation of the phase 2
Yammer use case: group
• ILRI engineering: Sharing information and
building a team
–
–
–
–
–
–
Little exchange before
New members trained on Yammer
All keeping each other posted about their activities
Fastening the learning pace for newcomers
New team dynamics with vibrant exchanges
Giving new ideas to work as a team face-to-face as
well
Yammer use case: individuals
• Olive Thiong’o posts about farmer-to-farmer learning experiences
in Tanzania
– 4 people share questions and answers and references about this and
find out about wider CCAFS work that is ongoing
• Ewen Le Borgne looks for references on impact assessment across
CGIAR
– References from 12 CG centres come in 1.5 days
• Bernhard Hack talks about the ICARDA KM retreat and ‘putting
focus back on Drupal’
– 21 messages from 14 participants in 3 days
• Tezira Lore encounters a problem on Wordpress and is asking for
troubleshooting help
– 6 people in a conversation leading to an IT solution
• (e.g.) Maren Radeny has joined Yammer
– 6 people welcome her! Great to catch up with someone you’ve known
for a while!
9. More information?
Troubleshooting,
guidance and help
Troubleshooting
• Lost your password?
– Go to www.yammer.com and click ‘Forgot password?’ and
write your password somewhere safe for next time
• Can’t open a Yammer page?
– Your connection might not be good enough. Try later or wit
a better Internet connection
• Overwhelmed with Yammer messages?
– Set your notifications better
• Mind not to delete your account (you cannot recover
it!)
More guidance information?
• Yammer network usage policy
• Yammer essentials page
• 3 short and useful Yammer video tutorials:
– http://www.screencast.com/t/iGGeCnlysVCu (basics)
– http://www.screencast.com/t/LcCk0aV7IDTm (other
posting options)
– http://www.screencast.com/t/9Tax4zczUc6i
(notification settings)
• Tinkering with tools: What’s up with Yammer? A
reflexive blog post about the CGIAR's use of
Yammer and links to further resources.
More human help?
• Power Yammer users:
– Peter Ballantyne (ILRI) head of Knowledge Management & Information
Services
– Michael Victor (CPWF/CRP 5) Comms coordinator
– Simone Staiger-Rivas (CIAT) Leader of capacity strengthening and
knowledge management
– Susan MacMillan (ILRI) Head of Public Awareness
– Jeremy Cherfas (Bioversity) Senior science writer
– Tsehay Gashaw (ILRI) Web communications officer
– Ewen Le Borgne (ILRI) Knowledge sharing and communication specialist