The article is thoght provoking. 

As with most worthy articles providing marketing insight, this too can be debated this way or that, for or against.  However, what our 'tribe' must remember whilst delving into hiterto unchartered territory is not to draw parallel inferences from our existing basket of experiences.

Social Media Marketing (SMM) is not an exact parallel to Print, Radio, Tv or Outdoor. So to infer that the reasons, logic and basis of SMM is akin to traditional media might be an error of understanding the evolving nature of the medium. None of us know how SMM is going to evolve 5 years from now, as we never knew SMM  5 years ago, at least as much as we do now.

Currently, it is the most silent method of 'tribe' formations. Best described as 'good ol' word of mouth'. The more silent it is, the more unencroaching it becomes (and that's the real challenge for marketers) the more it can delve deeper into the prospects mind and may be, just may be, generate a two way dialog process.

SMM will become 'social' as and when this dialog starts generating and the marketer would have immensely succeeded in creating a path for the future. Currently very, very few brands and agencies are recognising this subtlety in SMM and are being instinctively drawn into the quagmire of 'shout about what you got' kind of approach. 

The article appropriately  highlights this tectonic shift of apprach in SMM.

Regards

Rudro Sen