Dear BOMA/Chicago Members,

I'm happy to announce that BOMA/Chicago is now active on three social networking sites, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. As you may know, social networking is growing at an exponential pace and is changing the way people do business. More than 57 percent of employed adults in the United States utilize social networking for business purposes at least once a week, either as a referral source, extension of an in-person meeting or networking tool. As a membership-based organization, we are excited to use social networks to connect with the BOMA/Chicago community in an entirely new way.

We encourage you to "like" our Facebook page to view photos from past BOMA/Chicago events, learn more about news and upcoming events and engage with other members. Another way to connect is to join BOMA/Chicago's LinkedIn group, where you will have access to our discussion board of relevant commercial real estate topics, as well as a local job board to view and post employment opportunities within Chicago's commercial real estate industry.

Utilizing social networks is a great way for our members to engage with each other on a frequent basis, as well as to grow the sense of community we strive for. However, if you are not utilizing social networks, please be assured that you will still receive important news and information from the BOMA/Chicago newsletter and website. Our social networking presence will merely be an additional channel with which to stay updated about BOMA/Chicago news and events and engage with fellow members.

In the coming weeks, we will be updating the BOMA/Chicago website to allow members to access our Facebook page, Twitter community and LinkedIn group directly from the home page. Until then, please access our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#!/pages/Chicago-IL/BOMAChicago/101283676581962?ref=mf, follow us on Twitter @ BOMAChicago and join our LinkedIn group by searching for "BOMA/Chicago" in the "Groups" tab.

If you would like to learn more about social networks, including their purpose, how to utilize them to improve your personal and professional networking skills and how to leverage social networks for business development and referral sources, BOMA/Chicago will be holding a series of "Best Practices in Social Networking" sessions during the upcoming weeks.

"Social Networking 101" is the first in a series of Best Practice sessions designed to bring you up to speed with social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter--and how these sites can help you professionally.

The session will be led by BOMA/Chicago's Public Relations agency, Reputation Partners, and will address:

• The power behind social networking
• How the commercial real estate industry is utilizing social networks
• How to make professional social networking connections
• Best practices for utilizing LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and industry blogs
• How to use BOMA/Chicago's new social networking outlets

As one of the largest and most-respected BOMA-local organizations in the country, we think it is important to leverage the powers of social networking to form community ties and connect with all our members. We're excited about this step forward, and we look forward to engaging with you via Facebook and LinkedIn in the coming days.

Sincerely,

Michael Cornicelli
Executive Vice President
BOMA/Chicago