1. Corporate RE Internet Sites. ... As I read the latest Corporate Real Estate Yearbook from Commercial Property News, I was reminded how slowly corporate real estate departments have adopted the Internet. Only a small minority of the corporations in the Yearbook included a web address. And it was always to the company's site, not to the real estate department. At PikeNet, I only have eight (!) corporate real estate departments listed (see link below), and these are mostly focused on the disposition of surplus properties. ... Which companies am I missing?

http://www.pikenet.com/pike?func=corporate

I believe that in the future corporate real estate executives will see the web as a way to avoid answering time-wasting questions. ... "Who handles your property? Do you have any vacant space? What is your address?" ... Real estate directors will appreciate that you can process these kinds of inquiries via the Internet faster than telephone inquiries! ... Out of curiosity, I went to IDRC and NACORE to see what I could find there. Both feature extensive information on corporate real estate, but no public information on individual members or companies (rightfully so, as trade associations).

2. Message Boards 2.0. ... To make the PikeNet Message Boards easier to use, I've completely changed their organization. You'll find a much simpler hierarchy of message boards. In fact, you'll find just five folders! This will enable you to view quickly all posts to a message board, for example, the Jobs and Consulting board. You no longer need to visit dozens of folders for different geographical areas. But make sure that you include the location in the title. So post away!

Note that there are a number of new features that have been added to the Message Boards. ... For example, you can look at one-line descriptions of each message posted to a discussion. To view this feature, visit the Software and Tech folder and then click the gray triangle to the left of the discussion on Lease Management software. ... Now you can also reply to a specific message within a discussion and look at the result as a threaded conversation. ... If there are no posts (responses) to a discussion for thirty days, it is automatically be deleted. ... Visit the Message Boards at the URL below:

http://www.pikenet.com/cgi-bin/WebX

3. Web Success--Web Mail at KMS-ONCOR. ... For communicating information, there's no comparison between HTML mail and plain text. It's like a picture versus a telegram! ... Just listen to Rachel Ford, Marketing Services Coordinator, for Kidder, Mathews & Segner-ONCOR in Seattle describe the advantages of HTML, or web mail. "It's a perfect way for me to get the agents' attention when I send out updates and memos, since now I'll be able to use active graphics and images. I plan to eventually use it to help agents send out property flyers via e-mail..." And it's not difficult. Rachel uses Outlook 97/98, a very common mailing program. ... Do you have a Web Success story? Send e-mail to Peter Pike . ... For recent stories use the following URL:

http://www.pikenet.com/pike?func=WebSuccess09

4. Sponsor an Express! ... Consider sponsoring the weekly PikeNet Express to promote your service or product. Sent every Tuesday to almost 6,000 real estate professionals, the Express provides great visibility. ... For details, click the Advertising Info link below the Billboard on the home page or use the following URL:

http://www.pikenet.com/advertising/advertising.html

5. Switch to HTML E-mail. ... Join almost 750 subscribers who now receive the Dispatch as a web page. ... Just click the Edit User Profile link under the logo on the PikeNet home page. Enter your e-mail address and password. If you've forgotten your password, click the "E-mail My Password" button and it will be sent to your e-mail address immediately. After you login, choose the HTML option and click the Modify button at the bottom of the page. Remember, not all mail programs can read HTML mail. For example, AOL and many corporate systems cannot. But Eudora, Netscape, Outlook and Outlook Express can.

http://www.pikenet.com/pike?func=emailRequest

6. Sponsor. ... "Join the REAL ESTATE CYBERSPACE SOCIETY and receive the Society's Real Estate BlackBook CyberDisk and Real Estate Web Navigator. Also receive the New C&I CyberMarketing Wizard disk plus all 12 additional member services as shown at http://www.recyber.com. See what Members and the Press are saying. Join now with no risk guarantee. We'll help you close more deals in CyberSpace--guaranteed! Click below for your invitation to join the Society."

http://www.recyber.com/invitation.html

--Peter Pike