I see it over and over again.

In between the squawking about how blogs are already passe and how Twitter is going mainstream, there is a fundamental Old School operating concept of the Web and social media that is routinely ignored by many organizations, mostly through what I suspect is simple lack of knowledge and fear of a netiquette misstep.

Here it is  –  they fail to acknowledge the link.

If a blog links to your business/organization/nonprofit/product/service, the simplest way to acknowledge is to leave a comment on the blog post that linked to you.

If someone links to you in their Twitter stream, then acknowledge with a return tweet.

If someone writes on your business Facebook page Wall or uploads a great fan photo, write something back.

When someone links to you, particularly in a two-way conversation tool like a blog, that is the blog author’s way of saying “I acknowledge you and find you link-worthy.” Someone is talking about you with that link. It may be good. It may be bad. The important thing is that they’re digitally waving at you.

If I were a real, live person standing in front of you waving, would you ignore me, or would you engage and talk about your business/organization/nonprofit/product/service?

Of course, you’d engage….unless you don’t care, in which case, you’re on the wrong blog and there’s nothing for you here at Every Dot Connects.  (Go watch old Van Halen videos, maybe?)

You should acknowledge because people behind keyboards are real, too, and links are important.

Links are the coin of the realm online.  They are a “vote of trust.” They drive Google authority. They are a powerful “communication path.” They provide helpful background information.

Most wonderfully, they can shed light on hidden gems that might otherwise be lost in the Webby flood. Through a well-placed link, an influential blogger or wired journalist can bring millions of people’s attention to worthy Susan Boyle-like businesses or services that would otherwise labor in obscurity.

Sure, if you’re a big business with lots of Web traffic (or a small organization with a tiny staff, or a one-person organization like me who writes for more than one blog) it’s tough to keep up with all the inbound links. I discussed this issue on Twitter with the ebullient Dell online community guy Richard Binhammer, who said that while he and his company certainly keep track of who is linking to Dell and its blogs, they only go back and provide “commentary when warranted.”

Well, sure. Some conversations in real life are ignored when appropriate, some just get a cursory nod or “hey, thanks” and others elicit a more active exchange. It’s the same online.

This assumes that there is a mechanism in your business or organization that TELLS you when there’s an inbound link, and from whom.

I think that half the battle with lack of response to links is that the right people….

1. Don’t even see data about links or Web traffic or Facebook business page commentary, and
2. Don’t know what to do with the data if they get it.

The answer is to:

1. Get an internal communications system set up so that you see, immediately, when people link to you (to start, here’s how to see when someone links to your site and where to set up a Google Alert for your URL.)  Then….
2. Recognize the value and acknowledge the link.

As a travel writer and tourism consultant, I link to travel-related and state/county/city tourism organizations all the time.  Usually, I am trying to highlight a place in a positive way because I love and support travel.

The only way I can ever get a comment response to those links in my blog post is to send an email to the linkee, saying, “Hey, I linked to you. Come say hello!”

Um, I’ll wait here while y’all think about the absurdity of that.

Don’t be “that guy” online  –  acknowledge the link.

For those of you who know I am the farthest thing possible from a morning person, the title refers to a series Steve Woodruff (@swoodruff) created on his Sticky Figure blog. Through the magic of advanced scheduling, my contribution to Five in the Morning will indeed arrive with your morning coffee–while I am still happily snoozing.

While you sip caffeine, take a few minutes to enjoy these five blog posts:

1. If you’re the early bird who gets the worm type, you’ll get a peek at the newest version of my favorite Twitter app, TweetDeck, a few hours before me. At Read Write Web, Marshall Kirkpatrick has already taken the new model for a test drive. Here’s What It Will Include.

2. Glenda Watson Hyatt (@glendawh) writes the Do It Myself blog. Her 3 Tips for Making Your Hyperlinks More Usable will help web designers and bloggers make content more accessible to readers with visual impairment or other disabilities. Next time you complain about being “all thumbs,”remember Glenda, who has cerebral palsy; she blogs and uses Twitter, typing only with her left thumb.

3. If you’re a hockey fan and on Twitter, then you probably know Shannon Paul (@shannonpaul), who “does social media stuff” for the Detroit Red Wings. Stop by her Very Official Blog and read Stop Looking for Easy Answers When It Comes to Social Media. Shannon gets it right. But then, she usually does.

4. I’m a fan of Todd Defren (@tdefren), principal of SHIFT Communications. His PR Squared was one of the first PR blogs. So when an industry leader like Todd compiles his best thinking over the last five year into an e-book, it’s something to take note of. Brink: A Social Media Guide from the Edge is a free download.

5. If you’re a woman 55+ (*Connie raises hand*), you’re part of the fastest growing segment of Facebook users–up 175.3% in the last 120 days. Read more about the shifting demographics (older and wealthier) of the #1 social network at Inside Facebook.

And now, for a bonus (since we’re on the topic of age), read all about Stump, the 10-year-old Sussex spaniel who took home top honors at the annual Westminster Kennel Club Show. Stump is the oldest dog (70 in “dog years”) to win Best in Show in the competition’s 133-year history. I wonder if Stump is on Facebook . . .

Subscribe: Every Dot Connects / Steve Woodruff’s StickyFigure blog
Follow on Twitter: Connie Reece / Steve Woodruff

I’m doing some writing and marketing work for the travel site UpTake; in addition to hosting my Carnival of Cities blog carnival periodically on their Attractions blog, I’ll be covering travel industry social media topics on the UpTake Travel Industry blog.

To get started with a bit of a bang, I wrote two posts this week that Every Dot Connects readers might enjoy….

• A “wake up out there!” manifesto asking when the tourism businesses and CVBs (Convention and Visitor’s Bureaus) are going to “back off on printing brochures and rejiggering their Web sites (again) and really engage with the Web 2.0/social media world.” Assuming that my semi-rant results in the tourism industry wanting to know what to do next, I followed up with….

• Helpful hints on how to get social media traction for your tourism blog.  It has entry-level guidance for any blogger, such as, “Is your number of blog content subscribers (by RSS or email) moving in an upward direction?  Do you make it easy to subscribe and is it obvious how to do so on your site?  Do you periodically encourage subscription in your posts?”

Both UpTake posts sprang from my experiences as a blogger attending a recent travel industry conference; most of my impressions are unfortunately corroborated by others like Darren Cronian, who writes the UK’s Travel Rants.  Even today, there is a surprising lack of tourism folks who are really out in front trying to use Web 2.0 tools to promote their destinations in an effective manner.

When I started blogging in February 2006, I thought I was “late to the game,” but I hustled to learn everything I could. Now in 2009, it’s safe to say that any professional communicators worth their salt had better have more than a passing acquaintance with social media.

How blunt do I need to be – if you don’t understand this stuff right now, you are behind. That is all there is to it.

I am pained to find such fear and ignorance when as an avid traveler, it is obvious to me that this is an excellent communications vehicle to publicize tourism offerings.  It is not the ONLY communications vehicle (there is still a place for your printed brochures down in the lobby of the local Hampton Inn) but it is not something happening in the future – it is the way the world is right now.

(I wish they’d stop calling it “new media,” already.)

I mentioned in the second UpTake post that the next big bite to chew is mobile content and interaction. Any tourism organization that is still head-scratching about “whether we should use social media” is going to get their PR and marketing clocks cleaned within the next two years, as mobile activity combines with social networking and they simply cannot handle the steep learning curve of the whole package.

Now, ‘scuse me while I go see if my blogs appear OK on an iPhone display….

Many thanks to both Liz Strauss and Drew McLellan for adding my name to The W List, a celebration of women bloggers. I found it especially interesting that the announcement of this list coincided with my partner Mike Chapman’s post about the dearth of women bloggers at major events like Yearly Kos.

I’d like to call attention to several outstanding women who have informed / inspired / entertained me through their blogs. Please consider yourselves added to The W List …

StealthMode by Francine Hardaway — I love Francine’s spunky attitude toward life, adventure and blogging.

Spacey Gracey Review & TrueGritz by Grayson Daughters — Southern humor and outrageous opinion at its finest. (note to self: make Grayson an honorary member of Blogabillies; or is she too much of a refined Southern belle?)

Beltway Confidential by Julie Mason — Houston Chronicle’s Washington correspondent is dead-on funny in her blog about Beltway insiders and the press corps following their every move.

Crazy Aunt Purl by Laurie Perry — She learned to knit as a newly divorced wreck of a woman then found her voice when she started to blog. I’m really looking forward to her upcoming book, Drunk, Divorced and Covered in Cat Hair.

Jen McClure’s Ruminations & New Communications Review by Jen McClure — If you want to know what’s happening on the cutting edge of new media, you’ll find it in the New Comms Review, where Jen is the managing editor.

These names have been added to the list below. Is someone keeping a “definitive” list as we add more names of deserving women? If so, please let me know.

45 Things by Anita Bruzzese
A Look at Art & Design: Lisa Mikulski
angiemckaig.com: still a great pair of legs Angie McKaig
Ask Dr. Kirk
The Artsy Asylum by Susan Reynolds
Back in Skinny Jeans by Stephanie Quilao
Beltway Confidential by Julie Mason
BlogWrite for CEOs Debbie Weil
Biz Growth News by Krishna De
Brain Based Biz by Dr. Robyn McMaster
Brain Based Business by Dr. Ellen Weber
Brand Sizzle Anne Simons
Branding & Marketing Chris Brown
Brazen Careerist by Penelope Trunk
Build a Solo Practice, LLC by Susan Cartier Liebel
Christine Kane by Christine Kane
CK’s Blog CK (Christina Kerley)
Communication Overtones Kami Huyse
Confident Writing by Joanna Young
Conscious Business by Anne Libby
Conversation Agent Valeria Maltoni
Corporate PR Elizabeth Albrycht
Crazy Aunt Purl by Laurie Perry
Creative Curio by Lauren Marie
Customers Are Always by Maria Palma
Customers Rock! Becky Carroll
CustServ by Meikah David
Debbie Millman by Debbie Millman
Deborah Schultz by Deborah Schultz
Designers Who Blog by Cat Morley
Design Your Life Ellen and Julia Lupton, identical twins
Design Your Writing Life by Lisa Gates
Diary of Claudine Hellmuth Claudine Hellmuth
Diva Marketing Blog Toby Bloomberg
Do It Myself Blog by Glenda Watson Hyatt
Dooce by Heather B. Armstrong
Email Marketing Best Practices Tamara Gielen
Emily Chang – Strategic Designer Emily Chang
Enter the Laughter by Marti Lawrence
Escape Blog by Melissa Petri
Escape from Cubicle Nation by Pamela Slim
eSoup by Sharon Sarmiento
Essential Keystrokes by Char
Every Dot Connects by Connie Reece
Fish Creek House by GP
Flooring The Consumer CB Whittemore
Forrester’s Marketing Blog: Shar, Charlene, Chloe, Christine Elana, Laura and Lisa
Forward Steps Life Coaching by Thea Westra
Franke James by Franke James
Get Fresh Minds by Katie Konrath
Great Presentations Mean Business by Laura Athavale Fitton
Hey Marci by Marci Alboher
Get Shouty by Katie Chatfield
ifelse by Phu Ly
Illustration Friday Penelope Dullaghan
Inspired Business Growth by Wendy Piersall
Jen McClure’s Ruminations & New Communications Review by Jen McClure
J.T. O’Donnell Career Insights by J.T. O’Donnell
Joyful, Jubilant Learning by Rosa Say
Kinetic Ideas Wendy Maynard
Learned on Women by Andrea Learned
Lindsay Pollak by Lindsay Polla
Live The Power by Karen Lynch
Liz Strauss at Successful Blog by Liz Strauss
Lorelle on WordPress by Lorelle VanFossen
Making Life Work for You by April Groves
Manage to Change by Ann Michael
Management Craft by Lisa Haneberg
Mandarin Design Daily:The MEG Blog Michelle Goodrich
Marketing Roadmaps Susan Getgood
Moda di Magno by Lori Magno
Modite by Rebecca Thorman
molly.com Molly E. Holzschlag
Narrat Assets Karen Hegman
Netdiver Carole Guevin
On My Desk Linzie Hunter
Peace, Love, and Harmony by Kristen Harrell
Presto Vivace Blog Alice Marshall
Priscilla Palmer: Personal Development Demands Success by Priscilla Palmer
Productivity Goal by Carolyn Manning
Purse Lip Square Jaw Anne Galloway
Small Biz Survival by Becky McCray
Small Failures: Sustainability for the Rest of Us Jess Sand
swissmiss Tina Roth Eisenberg
The Brand Dame by Lyn Chamberlin
this is rachelandrew.co.uk Rachel Andrew
Sheriar Designs Mani Sheriar
Spacey Gracey Review & TrueGritz by Grayson Daughters
Spare Change Nedra Kline Weinreich
StealthMode by Francine Hardaway
Talk It Up Heidi Miller
Tech Kitten by Trisha Miller
The Copy Writing Maven Roberta Rosenberg
The Blog Angel by Claire Raikes
The Engaging Brand by Anna Farmery
The Floozy Blog by Kate Coote
The Kiss Business Too by Karin H.
The Origin of Brands Laura Ries
The Parody by Sasha Manuel
The Podcast Sisters by Krishna De, Anna Farmery and Heather Gorringe
Veerle’s blog 2.0 Veerle
Water Cooler Wisdom by Alexandra Levit
Wealth Strategy Secrets by Nicola Cairncross
What’s Next Blog B L Ochman
That’s What She Said by Julie Elgar
Versa Creations by Vivienne
Ypulse by Anastasia Goodstein

Linkworthy

Video: Wikis in Plain English
In just under four minutes, Lee LeFever at Common Craft explains what a wiki is and how to create one — using plain English and simple drawings. Demonstrates the superiority of a wiki over e-mail for organizing and storing information and communication during project collaboration.

Communication Overtones: Behind the Scenes: Anatomy of a Successful Digg
Kami Huyse, one of my favorite PR bloggers, shows how traditional PR methods combined with social media to vault a whiz-kid blogger from India to the front page of Digg in just 13 hours — sending more than 300 hits a minute to the teen’s site. Kami gives the timeline and tools used.

Why PR Doesn’t Work and How to Fix ItGreat analysis by Brian Solis, principal of FutureWorks in Silicon Valley, CA.

The Difference Between Marketing, PR, Advertising and BrandingMuhammed Saleem of Pronet Advertising points to four simple graphics that illustrate the differences between these disciplines. Web strategist Jeremiah Owyang offered a fifth illustration that added social media to the analogy.