AUSTIN, Texas, March 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Yammer, Inc., a best-in-class Enterprise Social Network and part of the Microsoft Office Division, today announced its participation at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Festival taking place March 8–12 in Austin, Texas.

Session Overviews

Who: David Sacks, Yammer co-founder and corporate vice president, Microsoft Office Division
What: Insights About Innovation: David Sacks Fireside Chat
When: Saturday, March 9, 12:30–1:30 p.m.
Where: Hilton Austin Downtown, 500 E. 4th St., Salon FGH

Sacks will be interviewed by Jason Calacanis, founder of LAUNCH.com and the LAUNCH Festival. They will discuss what it takes to create a disruptive startup in today's market, lessons learned during Sacks' time at PayPal, advice for entrepreneurs, and the current and future state of innovation in Silicon Valley.

Who: Kris Gale, vice president of Engineering, Yammer, and Lyn Jeffery, research director, Institute for the Future
What: Imitation as Innovation: Lessons from the Shanzhai
When: Friday, March 8, 5–6 p.m.
Where: Austin Convention Center, 500 E. Cesar Chavez St., Room 10AB

Gale and Jeffery will address how U.S. businesses have traditionally been built to be predictable, not adaptable, and how companies can benefit from adopting the philosophy of the Shanzhai "copycat culture."

Yammer-Sponsored Party
What: Yammer Meet-up Austin!
When: Saturday, March 9, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
Where: Hangar Lounge, 318 Colorado St.
RSVP: http://bit.ly/ZtZtbS

Food and drinks will be provided throughout the day along with music on the Hangar Lounge roof deck.

Noon–2 p.m.: Platform Developer Showcase
Come by to see all the fun and creative ways companies have used Yammer for their apps and product integrations.

2–4 p.m.: Project Bonfire
Project Bonfire is an interactive session for community managers and social business aficionados. For more information about the event, visit http://bit.ly/ZtZtbS

About Yammer
Yammer (www.yammer.com) is a best-in-class Enterprise Social Network used by more than 200,000 organizations worldwide — including 85 percent of the Fortune 500 — to foster team collaboration, empower employees, drive business agility and promote organizational connectedness. Yammer's freemium business model lets customers see the value of Yammer before upgrading to the premium offering. Founded in 2008, Yammer is now part of the Microsoft Office Division.

About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

SOURCE Yammer, Inc.