“Cheering for the hammer & nail, instead of the thing that’s being built, is a red-flag.”

You are absolutely correct and this is perhaps the most succinct way of describing all that is wrong with the philosophy of social media proponents.

A blog with some people making comments and responding isn’t having a real conversation. It’s mostly discussion forums with new interfaces. Big fucking deal.

The people who are *claiming* this is new have some really short-term memories. If they find these things hold value for them, super. But acting as though this is a new-fangled way of doing business is a joke.

But let’s not kid ourselves. The proponents are more interested in the hype around the “how” then they are around the outcome. Cheering for the hammer & nail, instead of the thing that’s being built, is a red-flag.

And although I believe that social media can be an effective mechanism for improvement if used appropriately, I think there’s probably too much sloppy thinking and speaking about its promotion.

As far as conflict-of-interests, you are pointing out a very serious problem that every business leader aught to monitor. It would be a shame if someone adopted the wrong tool based on a scam. What’s worse, this sort of behavior could preclude a business from adopting other tools that could actually be a benefit. It contributes to the noise and confusion already abounding the web.

Your skepticism is necessary if there’s even going to be a successful *social media* (whatever that means these days).

(And: I don’t thing you’re stupid.)