Microsoft buys social network you can use at work

On Monday, Microsoft announced it bought social-networking company Yammer. Finally, I can socially network at the office. From Reuters:

With Yammer, employees can use a private, online company directory to contact co-workers, form networks, chat, share links and post news. A basic version of Yammer is free, but a subscription buys more security and integration with other company-wide software.

On a free site like Facebook, users are bombarded with targeted ads, but Yammer offers a subscription option, so you can pay for the service with your money instead of your data. So, maybe someday, you’ll be on your Microsoft Surface tablet reading a spreadsheet and conducting business, and Jan from accounting will send you an article on best budgeting practices on your Yammer wall (or whatever it’s called), and bypass Microsoft email completely. Welcome to your future job!