When I wrote about Yammer in 2011, I called it a kind of internal Twitter for companies. Colleagues could ask questions, share project updates, tag topics and attach files. The aim was simple: fewer endless email chains and a clearer view of work across the organization.
The name has changed. Microsoft now calls Yammer Viva Engage and says much of the underlying product remains the same. The old claim that everyone with one email domain automatically joins a network is not a suitable guide to today's configuration or access rights.
Which conversations should be open?
A question that several colleagues could answer does not need another group email. In a shared space, others can find the answer later and add to it. A short project update can also help, provided it is clear who should read it and where final decisions are recorded.
Not every message belongs in a community. Personal data, confidential contracts and urgent incidents need an appropriate protected channel. An internal community works only when permissions are right and employees know what they may share. Someone must also update old answers when procedures change.
Start with the work
Ask where the email chains begin. Are they recurring questions from new employees, project status updates or news an entire department needs? Pick one concrete use and agree how people will reply, search and archive. Without those habits, the noise simply moves from the inbox to another screen.
My original observation still holds: internal knowledge becomes more useful when the right people can see and retrieve conversations. Microsoft's current product information can help you judge whether Viva Engage fits that purpose.