UPDATED 10/30 11 a.m.

Adam Pisoni, Yammer co-founder and CTO, just presented his keynote speech to another packed house at day two of YamJam. He started by discussing how successful companies are using Yammer to engage employees and become more agile while building alignment across the organization. But this nugget from Adam really stood out to me, “We do our best work out in the open...If you have a culture of trust at your organization, employees won’t be afraid to point out your mistakes. And they’ll do this before your competitors.”

This comment about transparency really struck me, especially because it’s not something that I hear people talking about very often. Having trust in your employees leads to more – more collaboration, more critical thinking, more engagement and more communication. Aren’t those all things we want more of?

Keep following @brilliantink and check back later for more updates!

UPDATED 10/30 8 a.m.

It's day two of YamJam, and there's another terrific line-up of keynote presentations and breakout discussions on tap today. Adam Pisoni, co-founder and CTO of Yammer, is kicking things off this morning talking about how companies are embracing adaptability, transparency and collaboration to drive better business results. Adam will be followed by author, filmmaker and blind adventurer, Erik Weihenmayer who will share his advice on becoming a better problem solver and innovator. Then, this afternoon's breakout sessions include, "Is Social Part of your DNA?", "Unleashing Hidden Talent with Enterprise Social," "Yammer on the Go: the Future of Mobile Collaboration," and a whole lot more.

Check back here in a few hours and follow us @brilliantink.

UPDATED 10/29 5:20 p.m.

The Surprising Science of Motivation

I think I’ve hit the best part of the day – a keynote by author Daniel Pink, who really knows his stuff when it comes to employee motivation. So, according to Daniel, what motivates people to do their best work? (Hint: it’s not about the money.) Daniel argues that it’s three factors: autonomy, being able to have some control and direction over your work; mastery, being able to really master and excel at your work; and purpose, or doing work that really matters to you. Daniel sums it up well: “People who do great work are thinking about the work – not the money.”

Well-said, and we couldn't agree more with this approach. At Brilliant Ink, we spend a lot of time talking about connecting employees to a higher purpose, and arming them with tools and resources to direct and master their work.  Check out a longer blog post that Liz Kelly wrote about Daniel’s work.

Be sure to tune in again tomorrow when I'll be live blogging from day two of YamJam.

UPDATED 10/29 2:45 p.m.

YamJam ’12 hasn’t slowed down! We’re talking simplicity, scalability, security and sustainability in the “Employees are Consumers: A View from the C-Suite” panel. Here’s my favorite quote so far from panelist, Bob Craig, CIO of Baker Hostetler, “Embrace disruptive innovation.”

Next up...one of Brilliant Ink's favorites - Daniel Pink, author of Drive and A Whole New Mind! Can't wait to hear his keynote.

UPDATED 10/29 12:15 p.m.

After spending a few hours surrounded by fellow Yammers at the YamJam conference, I don’t need to be convinced that Yammer is a pretty great tool. It can do just about anything. But the real question is how do you get employees to use it? That’s why I’m attending a break-out session entitled, “Putting Skin in the Game: C-Suite Sponsorship of Enterprise Social." According to panelist Jonathan Anthony, director of communications at Teekay Corporation, successful Yammer adoption rests on two things:

• Secure C-suite approval. Make sure you've got support before going anywhere or, as Jonathan warns, "you’ll get unplugged very quickly.”

• Embrace and drive a social culture at your organization. Yammer is an incredible tool, but it’s just that: a tool. It’s up to you as communicators and strategists to develop a way to build a more social culture.

UPDATED 10/29 11:10 a.m.

The YamJam ’12 conference got going this morning, and it’s a packed house! There are literally hundreds of communicators, employee engagement champions, business and tech leaders here. First off, CEO of Yammer David Sacks took the stage and didn’t miss a beat before sharing his vision for the company, which is to re-imagine the enterprise and make social the default. “Yammer wants to make everything you do social,” David announced. The audience liked the sound of that.

David invited a few people to join him on the stage, starting with Microsoft Corporate VP, Jeff Teper (Microsoft acquired Yammer earlier this year), and Yammer customers Westfield Shopping Centres and Gartner. For the CEO of Westfield Shopping Centres, Yammer has allowed managers to lead deeper conversations with their teams and pinpoint challenges much more quickly than before.

So, back to Yammer’s vision. How is the company changing the future of enterprise social media? For starters, they’re introducing new features. David announced new social plug-ins and an app directory that will help Yammer achieve their vision while also increasing team collaboration, business agility and employee engagement. I’m hoping to see a demo later this afternoon.

I have to admit that David’s opening keynote took me back to 2008 when Facebook was relatively new, and most people were trying to make sense of Twitter. Was anyone thinking of using social media for anything other than personal? Yammer was. But the company didn’t get too much respect then; in fact, “social networking for enterprise was seen as a toy four years ago,” David explained. But now, four years later, Yammer’s 6 million enterprise users are no joke!

I can’t wait to hear more from Yammer experts and other conference participants today and tomorrow. Going on now is a customer panel with PG&E, Tyco and Razorfish, and moderated by David Kirkpatrick, author of The Facebook Effect. Check back here and @brilliantink for more updates!

10/29 8 a.m.

Good morning! I'm at Yammer's first YamJam conference, and all the action is happening right here in San Francisco! YamJam is about bringing together business and tech gurus to share ways that some of the world's best companies are using Yammer and other technologies to increase employee engagement and collaboration. Sounds pretty cool, huh? We think so, and that's why I'll be live blogging updates and happenings from the conference.

Things are just about to kick off with an opening keynote by David Sacks, CEO of Yammer. Looking forward to hearing his insights and thoughts!

Be sure to check back here for more updates throughout the next two days and follow us @brilliantink.