Although I left you a comment on your conversation in LinkedIn, I thought it would be appropriate to leave it here too.  I hope you don't mind.
___
I'm not sure I agree with your article.

While it is true that marketing is not traditionally a "social" activity, social media marketing is not traditional marketing.

It seems to me that you are talking apples and oranges.  

Social media marketing is about engaging with your customers and clients.  It is about taking part in the conversations that are happening about your brand and/or company...and being able to do it in real-time.

Any company that applies the "intrusiveness" of traditional marketing to their social media marketing campaign is destined to see it as a failure.  The ROI and metrics for measuring success in social media marketing versus traditional marketing are not the same.  More importantly, the process for implementing a social media campaign is far different than that of a traditional marketing campaign.

Print, radio and television advertising are tools.  Social media is no different.  It is a tool used to inform people of your product, brand or company.  But print, radio and television advertising is...well, advertising.  And it's intrusive.  Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. is about participating in conversations.

I do see where you were going with your post, after reading the last paragraph.  And, I agree.  The secret is contribution and participation...not overt selling.

Regards,