Tools | Social Media University, Global (SMUG)

Yammer 111: Twitter-Yammer Integration with #yam

Thanks to @tomburket for the heads up this morning on this new Yammer feature, as described in the Yammer blog:

You can now import your Twitter updates into Yammer, using the #yam tag. After linking your Yammer and Twitter accounts, any tweet (message posted to Twitter) that contains the #yam tag will be automatically imported into your Yammer network.

The Yammer blog gives instructions for how to do this. It’s really simple. Tom got the tip about the new feature, which was announced yesterday, from @steverubel.

Initial thoughts:

This was really easy. I got the direct message from Tom about this on Twitter at 7, checked it out a couple of minutes later and adjusted my Yammer account settings. Then I sent a test #yam tweet at 7:08.

It works well. My test #yam tweet showed up in my Yammer feed at 7:09. Here it is (click to enlarge):

This will be good for Yammer. It makes it much more likely that #yam will be a trending topic in Twitter search, at least as people test it, which will increase Yammer’s visibility in the Twittersphere.

It may also be a practical way to ensure that messages you are sending outside your company are also communicated to work colleagues. For example, there may be things I tweet about that don’t interest my team members at work. Hard to imagine, I know. But if they follow me on Yammer, and if I tag posts with the #yam tag if I want to be sure they get them, I can share both externally to the world and specifically to teammates…without having to go to Yammer and send a separate message. It could increase the signal-to-noise ratio for my colleagues, while also making it simpler for me to share information.

Assignment:

Join Yammer if you haven’t. (See Yammer 101)
Adjust your Yammer account settings to add your Twitter account name. (You do have a Twitter account, right? If not, check out Twitter 102)
After you’ve completed the first two steps (and any necessary remedial studies!), send a tweet with the #yam tag (in Twitter) and watch it show up in your Yammer feed.
Share your thoughts about this new Yammer feature in the comments below.

Twitter 106: Tweetdeck vs. Twhirl

I had intended to make Twitterology part of the “J-Term” focus for SMUG, but with the launch of Sharing Mayo Clinic I’m still behind both in the Twitter curriculum and in the evaluation of the pros and cons (and the step-by-step process) of moving from WordPress.com to a self-hosted WordPress blog.

Time to get started!

Tweetdeck and Twhirl are desktop applications for your computer that help you manage your interactions with Twitter to be more effective and efficient. Nine months ago, Chris Miller compared the two and though Twhirl was better. In this post I’m not attempting an exhaustive comparison, but just hopefully giving you a taste of what you can do, so you will be encouraged to explore the benefits of each for yourself.

Continue reading “Twitter 106: Tweetdeck vs. Twhirl”

SMUG Twitter Group

As part of our ongoing exploration of Twitter, I’ve formed a couple of new outposts to explore ways to enable SMUGgles to get to know each other and interact.

The first is a Social Media University, Global (SMUG) Twitter Group, on the TwitterGroups site. The user interface reminds me a bit of Craigslist, and it seemed kind of odd that although I’m the group creator, when I went there today it gave me the “Join Group” option instead of knowing that I am a member.

So, I joined again. Now I’m on the list.

I hope you’ll join too, so we can explore together and see whether this service is worthwhile.

That’s part of the idea of SMUG: Get hands-on experience with social media tools, so you can see whether they make sense for you to use in your own business or non-profit organization.

So if you post tweets about it, use the #smug hashtag, and we’ll see if they get pulled into the group.

I’ll be interested to see what you think!

Christmas, The Little Mermaid and the Power of the Flip

SMUG has been observing our Christmas recess (although newer SMUGgles are certainly welcome to explore some of the existing curriculum) as the Chancellor’s family has been celebrating our Savior’s birth. The regular curriculum development will resume Monday.

We’re about to begin Day 3 of our Christmas gatherings, with Lisa’s side of the family joining us here at Old Main. Last night we were at my parents’ place with the Aase clan, and on Christmas night we had our six kids, our “adopted” son Jeff, and our granddaughter, Evelyn here to open presents. Here’s a picture of Evie and her Grandma Aase:

Evie’s Dad, my son-in-law Kyle, deserves a special mention, for many reasons. We’re glad he’s been brought into Rachel’s life (and therefore ours), and that he will be starting seminary classes next month. For SMUGgles, this relationship between Kyle and Rachel is an illustration of the power of social media, as they met through Facebook. So in some sense, Evelyn is here today because Mark Zuckerberg decided to start a social networking platform.

Kyle inadvertently demonstrated the power of another tool in social media, the Flip video camera, on Christmas night as Rachel unwrapped a gift — a Little Mermaid songbook — from her sister, Rebekah:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqO2rBlCepM]

As I’ve said previously, one of the main benefits of the Flip is that you can always have it with you, and so therefore you are much less likely to miss capturing that priceless memory.

This is Exhibit A!

This video may yet make its way to Facebook, where Kyle can be tagged so that all of his 926 friends can see his musical expression. Somehow, I think Kyle’s brothers and sisters-in-law will take care of that. In the last couple of weeks, I’ve uploaded some video highlights of their youth directly to Facebook so their friends can see them. And because Facebook now defaults to sharing video with everyone (although it lets you limit who sees them), I think you SMUGgles can see them too (and I’d be interested in having you confirm in the comments below.)

Here’s one of my son, Jake, in which he shows immense bravery (at least for a few seconds) after suffering a foot injury, and another in which he displays an interest in botany.

Here’s Ruthie giving her newborn brother Joe “a swoppy kiss.”

And here are Ruthie and Bekah (but mostly Bekah) singing one Sunday morning before church.

It’s time now to go make and capture some more memories, as the Wacholz clan is about to arrive.