Yammer Embed and Open Graph

Audience and Requirements

Audience:

Yammer Embed and Open Graph API are targeted at web and application developers. These technologies are also useful for Yammer users that are familiar with HTML. Requirements:
To understand the information presented here the reader should have a Yammer account. In addition, to debug problems with Yammer Embeds, users should have familiarity with the developer tools included with modern browsers.

Topics and Learning Objectives:

This deck covers the following topics about Yammers Open Graph API and Embed technologies:

A basic understanding of the capabilities of each technology. An understanding of who in your organization can use the technology. A high-level description of how the Open Graph API and Embed technologies work.

After reviewing this deck you should have the ability to:

Describe the Yammer Embed integration. Identify places where Yammer Embed can be utilized. Describe what the Open Graph API is, and what its benefits are. Identify the format schema and supported object types of the Open Graph API.

Using Yammer Embed

Feeds for Groups, Topics, and Users

What is a Yammer Embed?

What is a Yammer Embed?

A Yammer Embed is a JavaScript-based widget that harnesses the power of your enterprise social platform by making Yammer available to users where they work online. It provides a way to display content from Yammer in your own HTML-based app.

What Does Embed Code Look Like?

*.JS

1.

It has a reference to the yam.js script file.

It has the initialization script for your instance of Embed with a static configuration. It has a div tag for placement of the feed on your page.

2.

</>
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3.

Feeds Yammer Can Embeds Display

Feed
My Feed

Description
My Feeds are where conversations are delivered for Yammer users. All the conversations posted by a specific user in Yammer. A feed of conversations that have been tagged with a topic in Yammer. A feed of conversations that have been posted in a specified group. Uses Yammers Open Graph API to facilitate conversation around an application object.

FeedType
See My Feed example
User Topic

Use Case
My Site homepage or workspace site.
Profile pages for users in a system directory. An event page on an intranet.

User Feed Topic Feed

Group Feed

Group

A team page on an intranet.

Comment Feed

Click here for more information

An opportunity in a custom CRM application, or a media detail page in a digital asset management system.

When to Use Yammer Embeds

The situations below outline when you should use a Yammer Embed and when you might want to utilize other options for Yammer integration: Use a Yammer Embed When:
You have an HTML-based application such as a portal, intranet, or business application. You can use it in SharePoint, but Yammer has packaged integrations available for this platform that may be more appropriate for your needs.

Dont Use a Yammer Embed If:

You need a custom publisher. You need to handle very specific business requirements. These situations are better handled better by our REST API or Application Integration.

The Embed User Experience

1.

Click the Log in With Yammer button.

2.

The authorization dialog appears.

3.

If this is your first time logging in, a confirmation dialog will appear asking you to grant access to the Embed application. Click Allow to do so.

Embed Testing Checklist

We recommend that you test the Yammer Embed you develop before deploying it to your website live. Here are some tips on Embed testing:

Test Embed outside of your environment using the Yammer Embed Widget.
Test Embed with multiple web browsers. Review the console in the web developer provided by your browser.

Capture screenshots.
Provide a succinct reproduction of the issue.

Troubleshooting Embeds
1.

Check your Internet Explorer settings for zone configuration, and enable http://www.yammer.com as a Trusted Site Zone. Check Internet Explorers compatibility view. For more information about turning off Internet Explorers compatibility view, visit this Microsoft community article. Check the pages for conflicting JavaScript code. Use a test environment such as JSFiddle to test your embed outside of the page with the JavaScript code.

2.

3.

4.

Check the pages for conflicting CSS statements. Test the page by running the embed without a CSS style sheet.
For more information regarding troubleshooting of Yammer embeds, please visit the Yammer Developers site.

5.
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*.JS, *.CSS

The Open Graph API

Connecting Yammer with the Social Graph

Open Graph API Overview

Whats is Yammers Open Graph API?

Open Graph is a light weight protocol that facilitates integrating data from different social apps into what we call the social graph. Yammer's Open Graph API allows developers to write activity from their app into Yammer.

Yammers Open Graph API Allows:

Rich metadata around an object identified by a URL. Discussion mirroring between an application and Yammer through comment feeds. Aggregation of all conversations around an object in Yammer.

Examples of Uses for Yammers Open Graph API

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In a customer relationship management (CRM) app, a sales rep updates an opportunitys probability of closing to a lower number. In a scheduling app, an employee creates a lunch meeting.

Open Graph Process Overview

Format The Users Data For Open Graph
Display User Data in Their Yammer Feed

Authenticate A User

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User Authentication
Yammer Embed handles authentication automatically. However, authentication can also be handled using OAuth. This process is similar to what is shown in Getting Started with OAuth 2.0 (Ryan Boyd, OReilly Media). The complete authentication flow using OAuth 2.0 is detailed at the Yammer Developers site.

The documentation there provides the detail for each step of the authentication process.

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The Open Graph Data Format

An Open Graph activity takes the following format:
<Actor> <Action> <Object> on <App Name>: <Message>

Actor
A Yammer user that performed an action in your app. If the actor exists in the Yammer network, the story will be delivered to the actor, and possibly others, based on delivery rules.

Action
A verb that describes what happened to the object. For example: created, updated, deleted, followed, liked, and so forth.

Object
The Open Graph object is the key piece of any activity. It represents an entity instance in your app, such as an event or a CRM record.
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An Open Graph Example

Open Graph Format
<Actor> <Action> <Object> on <Action>: <Message>

CRM Example
Sidd Singh created Lunch Meeting on Sched.do: Hey, lets get sushi!

User activity displayed in Yammers Activity Stream

<Actor> <Action> <Object> <Action> <Message>

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The Open Graph Schema

In the example, Open Graph was used to describe a lunch meeting between coworkers. However, Open Graphs rich schema makes much more possible. Supported object types:
page (default) place person department team project folder file document image audio video company

Supported actions:
create update delete follow like

If the above actions or objects are not sufficient, you can even create custom actions to better suit your needs. Click here for more information.
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Ready to Build a Yammer App?

The steps below can help you build an app on the Yammer platform.
1.

Visit the Yammer New App Registration page and Register Your App to get the API key. Connect your app to Yammer and authenticate with OAuth 2. Write data into Yammer using Open Graph

2.

3.

4.

Display data in your application using a Yammer Embed.

Now that youve built your app, make it ready for inclusion in Yammers App Directory and deploy it to a global audience!
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Learning Review and Additional Resources

Learning Review
In this deck we provided information covering:

A summary of Yammers Embed and Open Graph API technologies. A technical overview of both technologies. Information on who can use these technologies to deliver better experiences.

With this information you should be able:

Describe the Yammer Embed integration. Identify places where Yammer embed can be utilized. Describe what the Open Graph API is, and what its benefits are. Identify the format schema and supported object types of the Open Graph API.

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Additional Resources
The following resources can provide you with additional information about Embed:

http://success.yammer.com/integrations/yammer-embed/ https://developer.yammer.com/connect/ http://github.yammer.com/

The following resources can provide you with additional information about Open Graph:

http://ogp.me/ https://developer.yammer.com/opengraph/

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