254,098 followers can't be wrong ....

Last week I was submitted to a barriage of Twitter related media (Twitterage?). BBC Radio 1's morning anchor Chris Moyles joked about it and TV host, comedian and author Stephen Fry admitted his addiction to it (he's following over 54,345 people, has 254,098 Followers).


Yammer a 'corporate' Twitter, creates closed networks (walled gardens) where only users with the same domain address (e.g .@acmecorp.com) can register (similar to what facebook did when they started, validating affilliation with a US collage). Unlike Twitter which is a true democratised communication channel, Yammers twist (and business model) is based on Corporates wanting to seize control of their networks. For example in the consumer edition of Yammer anyone can say essentially anything (i.e. it's unmoderated). In the paid (Enterprise) edition approved moderators can e.g. remove the offensive / inappropriate comments .


The value of corporate control is clear ... but how realistic is it? - after all employees are already using Twitter, Blogs and other channels outside of corporate control. In a period of history where compliance has never been greater - moderation (read risk mitigation) will be a feature enterprises will want : my conclusion - Yammer will do well.

A wider point perhaps is that Yammer and Twitter do address different social audiences (updating your internal team / business vs. updating the world) - but how sustainable is this division? Are our profressional and personal networks distinct, is there demand for distinction and how will the distinction be managed in the future - through different tools and technologies, or through better channel and message management?