This is an old hat, but it hasn’t been worn in a while (image: twistedtigger).  Apparently it needs to be dusted off.  See many people these days just publish and don’t cross-link. All push, no pull.

So what’s the difference between an email newsletter and one published on a blog platform? Nothing.  Even if the words social or blog are in the effort… Talking at people is the old way. It’s inherently antisocial.

See, without cross-links companies, entities, organizations are not engaging in communities. It’s what Doc Searls called the generous web:

- Morality of self-interest. This gives us “owning”, “domination”, etc. The Old School. Industrial Age shit. Still prevails in many business plans that are just for killing other companies.

- Morality of accounting. We balance everything. “Paying debts”, “owing favors”. This is our system of justice, by the way. It’s all about accounting. (Note the scales of justice symbol.)

- Morality of generosity. We give. We are open. We love without expectation of reward, or even accounting. (In fact, when you bring in accounting, you compromise it.) Think about how we give to our spouses, our children, without strings. It pays off, too. But that’s fundamentally not what it’s about.

And Doc’s right, it does pay off. Virally.  Because we engage in the larger conversation and participate, creating dramatic new venues for engagement with our stakeholders and key influencers (those you link towards).  But if people keep talking without cross-linking outside their company SEVERAL times in each post, they’ll never find that out. They are ungenerous and have bad social karma.