

Using Yammer to Communicate Effectively in a Startup - beermann
http://blog.sharendipity.com/using-yammer-to-communicate-effectively-in-a-startup

======
mrshoe
I have to add a somewhat shameless plug here, because my startup is tackling
_exactly_ the set of problems he's discussing here. We really believe that
Yammer's model is somewhat flawed, and in our experience an enhanced "internal
IRC" model has worked much better.

I like that he mentions integrating with other systems. Some of the biggest
productivity gains we've seen have come from chat bots, which interject useful
information into the conversation. They can also respond to commands from
users to do useful actions. Our API still needs some polish, but we'll be
releasing it to the public soon. Internally, we have chat bots that notify us
about svn commits, Google alerts, changes to any Trac ticket or wiki page,
etc. I can't wait to see what all the hackers here do with it. :)

Communication tools like this really change the game, especially for
distributed teams.

We're in open public beta right now. Check out <http://shoptalkapp.com> and
let us know what you think. We always value the opinion of HN readers.

~~~
beermann
Interesting product. I think it could work well for large companies where the
chat rooms make more sense but I'm not sure it would work as well for a
startup. Adding features like hashtags and search would help too.

I also really like that Yammer provides a desktop client. I mention that a lot
of the barriers to communication have to do with integrating into my everyday
routine. When I have to go to a web page, it breaks up my workflow and I end
up just not using the product like I should.

~~~
mrshoe
Thanks for checking it out. We have a search feature under development. I
agree that search is key for this type of tool.

I'd be interested to hear what you use the desktop client for. We have been
thinking of creating one simply for DM alerts, but do you find it useful
beyond that? It's a shame that browsers can't do notifications.

Also, could you elaborate on why chat rooms make more sense for larger
companies than for a startup? The real-time conversation aspect has just be so
useful for us, especially since we're a distributed team.

~~~
beermann
The desktop client just integrates really well with my workflow. When I have
to move from one app to the browser and open up a new tab it takes me out of
my current mode of operation. It's a subtle nuance in liking the desktop
client better than the browser but I think it's important. You also contend
with other distractions in the browser. All hell breaks loose when I see my
bookmarks to HN, Reddit, Facebook, etc. and there goes my productivity...

For our company, with just a couple of founders, chat rooms wouldn't make
sense because we want everyone to know everything. We'd just have one master
chat room. In Yammer, hashtags provide a similar feature to chat rooms,
although all conversations are aggregated into one stream. I guess we could
have separate chat rooms for checkins, bugs, etc. but now I'm flipping between
tabs when I could have just tagged by comment with the right hashtag.

~~~
mrshoe
I see what you mean now. Multiple rooms are definitely overkill for just a few
people. The three of us also just use one room right now. However, my last
startup grew to about 30 people, and at that point, multiple rooms were a
necessity. We've tried to make it easy to switch tabs using keyboard shortcuts
and indicate activity in other rooms by highlighting the tabs.

Sounds like we should consider increasing the priority of the desktop client.
Thanks for all the great feedback.

------
jamesk2
I've been using Yammer for my startup. The members of our team are in LA and
NY. When two of the three talk, the third member can catch up when he can.

We put notes, links and documents on there. It's also a group Getting Things
Done system. We try to finish every meeting with next action steps.

------
ams6110
We tried Yammer in a team of 12 - 15 devs. About half of them liked it. The
other half thought it was "yet another annoying, distracting thing to take me
out of my 'flow'"

