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Dear Reader, Thank You for Subscribing

PikeNet 2000 / Apr 5-7, 2000 / San Francisco

Yearend Report... This is the last Dispatch this year, and it's a good time to reflect back on the growth of PikeNet over the previous twelve months. Wow, it's hard to believe but this actually completes the fourth year of PikeNet (business started January 1, 1996; site public on March 21, 1996). It has been and continues to be an all-consuming (and highly entertaining!) endeavor. Hey, maybe I'm having too much fun.

Web Site... My web developers have begun a massive rebuilding of the database, which will significantly speed up searching. Publicly you'll see the addition of PikePoints in late February or early March. This will allow visitors to post comments on any service or product in the PikeNet Directory. Based upon your e-mail, I believe that there is a huge reservoir of knowledge and good will that PikeNet readers would like to exchange. PikePoints should make PikeNet more relevant to your day-to-day business activities.

Dispatch... I'll end the year with just over 7,800 subscribers with another 93 names to be added in the next week or so (as soon as a company notifies its staff that the Dispatch is coming!). My goal is to grow this list to 10,000 by June of 2000. That's will be a tough unless entire companies sign up all of their professionals. ... And that's where my 80-20 rule comes into play. It goes like this. If you exhort your colleagues to subscribe, at the most 20% will sign up. If you simply subscribe your colleagues and tell them what you have done, 20% will cancel (which is very easy to do using the link at the bottom of each Dispatch), leaving 80% of your troops on the list. To sign up dozens or hundreds of your colleagues, send me a file with their e-mail addresses. ... My (totally biased) viewpoint is that the more subscribers your firm has, the faster your firm will evolve into a successful e-business.

I've tried to develop a rhythm for the three Dispatch issues that you receive during a normal week. Monday's issue usually focuses on a major trend. Wednesday's issue features an interview. And Friday's outlines a tip or resource to make you more productive. ... Although I have a stack of potential subjects next to my computer, I'm always looking for fresh angles.

Thank you for subscribing to the Dispatch. It is a privilege to include you as a member of the PikeNet community. May you have a successful New Year!

-- Peter Pike