Yammer is a microblogging tool for the enterprise. Think Twitter for business.We use Yammer at Avaya. It’s been a good product for us. Yammer is arguably the leader in its space. I like Yammer. It’s been a good tool for me. I use it everyday and it’s part of my work flow. Unfortunately Yammer broke the cardinal rule of Internet marketing. Not being authentic.

Yammer took a post by Former Forrester Analyst Gil Yahuda and made a case study out of it without Gil’s or Forrester’s permission. According to Gil’s post, Yammer went so far as to misrepresent him and give the impression he was endorsing their product. This is not the only time Yammer has taken liberties such as this.

Yammer has a good product. They are a leader in their space. Breaking the cardinal sin is the worse thing they could have done.

Authenticity is critical today. We are constantly bombarded by information, people, and companies. We rely on people being true, honest and reliable to weed through it all. We need to know that our online relationships are real. When this is violated our trust is undermined.

Build your online presence with good content, great products, and strong engagement, but most importantly be authentic. Online; there is nothing more valuable.

Yammer, stop Yammering and let your community tell the story. You’re not very good at it.