Hi Thomson

Great piece - thank you.

My thoughts on SMM are that the shouting "LOOK AT ME" approach that used to sell product in print is entirely wrong.  As has been stated, it's about social interaction, adding value to a tribe and transferring value from there.
The consumer is much more savvy, educated and discerning - read "more easily able to filter out noise"; and shouting is just noise...

A while ago I proposed a new marketing model - BIIR (http://interacter.wordpress.com/2010/08/05/ill-have-a-p-please-bob/) - where social fits very firmly into the Integration and Interaction concepts.  This is, I believe, where SMM should be focusing - working out where it can integrate with the consumer to bring value and then on the interaction to create that value...

Hope that's all of use and interest!
Neil