What is cross-posting?
Cross-posting is the process of sending a single message or part of its content to multiple destinations. These can be different threads or subsections of a common platform or two different platforms. Cross-posting brings a wider readership to a single message by diversifying where that message is placed.
A cross post is also known as a cross page post.
Some technologies allow cross-platform cross-posting. For example, an app could allow users to post a message to a proprietary site and also to Facebook, Twitter, or Craigslist at the same time. It's relatively easy to set up software with APIs that allow cross-posting.
However, practice has sparked a wider discussion about the pros and cons of cross-posting. As mentioned, on the one hand, this message reaches a larger audience. On the flip side, some argue that cross-posting tends to 'devalue' a message in some way - if it's everywhere, it's no longer unique or essential to a particular platform thread.
Think of every single message posted on social media as a conversation opener - if the same opener is seen in multiple places, there may be fewer opportunities for people to develop a conversation about it - they could ignore it and think about it It's kind of a generic or automated message rather than thinking of it as a single instance of an online interaction.