I prefer to converse on HN as I can follow the discussion easier and the quality of responses is much higher than out there in the wild. Unless of course I want to talk to the blog owner.
Commenting twice (the same thing) is cross posting to me.
So you prefer main stream media like TechCrunch, NYT, Wired etc. instead of sites and blogs by regular people? Why don't you just use an RSS reader then?
IMHO one of the best things about social news sites is that you get sources you wouldn't otherwise find. HN tends to copy Digg where only a few sources get attention while other get ignored altogether.
I guess what I'm saying is that it feels forced when someone promotes their own blog in a comment, especially on a popular story. But I will read their blog if I like their comment and possibly subscribe to it. Perhaps the best way to increase traffic is to not call attention to yourself and just write and post insightful stuff on HN. This will naturally get people to click on your username and go to your bio where most have their blog linked.
