Yammer, a new microblogging service for corporate networks, and a startup that Techcrunch calls “Twitter with a business plan,” has caught the attention of New York Times business writer, Claire Cain Miller.
The goal, said its chief executive, David Sacks, is to make offices more productive. People on Yammer update colleagues on company events or ask work-related questions without clogging e-mail boxes with mass mailings.
Yammer’s business model is compelling, Mr. Sacks said, because it spreads virally like a consumer service, but earns revenue like a business service. Anyone with a company e-mail address can use Yammer free. When that company officially joins — which gives the administrator more control over security and how employees use the service — it pays $1 a month for each user. In Yammer’s first six weeks, 10,000 companies with 60,000 users signed up, though only 200 companies with 4,000 users are paying so far.
If you’re interested in testing the waters, Yammer’s blog is a good place to start.