Put social back in social media

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m addicted to social media. I think it is a great technological tool, but I stumbled upon a recent article that I think is worth discussing. It outlines the issue of actual vs. online interaction and suggests that tools such as the “Like” button on Facebook hinder conversation. People are so caught up in Twitter, Facebook, and access to their Blackberries, that the easiest way to talk for some is through Facebook chat. Are we so involved in social media that we've forgotten how to be social outside the world wide web? I don’t want to pose a question about the necessity of social media, but rather on the ways in which we use it.


Social media can be an asset in terms of engagement, especially for companies because that's where consumers are. But how can engagement be measured by the amount of clicks or visits a page gets? These numbers do say a lot about the site, but what's the conversation? Why are people clicking in the first place? Do we even know what to listen for or are we just concerned with how many "Likes" there really are?