Consider this an open-ended kind of post. I have questions as much as I have ideas. It revolves around online etiquette and human interaction. I’d love your thoughts, if you’ve a moment.
It revolves around quid pro quo, or “something for something.”
The basic premise of quid pro quo is that people attempt fair/equal transactions. This makes perfect sense when the exchange is obvious: I’ll give you $1.00 for that soda pop.
It’s a lot harder when it comes to situations between humans. Let’s start simply: if I follow you on Twitter, you’ll likely follow me back. Right? If I choose to friend you on LinkedIn, a professional network, will you be so quick to reciprocate? Well now it depends. How about Facebook? We’re friends on Twitter. Why not Facebook?
And this is just “friending” in the online world.
Here’s where this gets tricky:
If I invite you to join the Facebook group for Trust Agents, it’s because I think you’ll get some value out of participating there. Say you join the group. If you now invite me to join your real estate company’s fan page after you’ve joined my book’s group, what should I do? Should I say yes because you said yes to me?
But I have no interest in real estate, except for when I’m making a transaction.
I was asked to join someone’s new social media application, but because I have a lot of stuff on the go, I politely declined. What I got back as a parting shot was, “Thanks. I’ll still buy your book.”
It left me feeling a bit awkward.
Do we expect reciprocal behavior all the time? Is it easy enough to see that I participate as much as I can in both directions, and that it’s not all about me?
What do you do in these situations?
Photo credit Mr Mystery
ChrisBrogan.com runs on the Genesis Framework
The Genesis Framework empowers you to quickly and easily build incredible websites with WordPress. Whether you're a novice or advanced developer, Genesis provides you with the secure and search-engine-optimized foundation that takes WordPress to places you never thought it could go.
With automatic theme updates and world-class support included, Genesis is the smart choice for your WordPress website or blog.
- Find out more about the framework features
- Check out the Genesis demo and the wide variety of child themes
- See example designs in the Genesis design showcase





Pingback: Profiting off Sponsored Conversations
Pingback: SUSTAINABLE MARKETING BLOG » Blog Archive » Egotism and altruism in marketing
Pingback: A Guide To Modern Manners: Is reciprocation a requirement? | Deep Bench
Pingback: Let’s cut our power bill and save the environment | Personal Finance Debt & Investing
Pingback: Social Media Links O’ The Week: July 25-31 | Being Cheryl
Pingback: Bobbie Carlton PR and Marketing » Blog Archive » Un-natural Acts: Pumping up the Volume on Social Networks
Pingback: Should I unfollow everyone on twitter? | Social Media Stuff | Justin Parks
Pingback: The Web2Marketer » Blog Archive » weekly (weekly)
Pingback: Profiting off Sponsored Conversations | The Internet Marketing Spot
Pingback: Twist Image - Six Pixels of Separation
Pingback: Who Made Emotions King?
Pingback: Vitamin Supplement Information