If used correctly social media can be used as one of the most effective marketing tools available.  In the old days entrepreneurs would have to drive their business the old fashioned way, through pure hustle.

I have a neighbor who was a very good networker even before social media.  In fact we can't go anywhere without him knowing at least someone.  Brian Hart owns Frame de art and has really created a nice business which grew through word of mouth.  The interesting part of Brian's booming framing company is that he is consistently selling frames in any economic environment.  His product speaks for itself and his store is gaining in popularity by the day.  He has complimented his networking skills with facebook and a few other sites he uses to stay in front of the majority of the Denver Metro Area.  This is a great example of someone working very hard to market their business through social networking.  But the key here is the hard work he puts in.

An article in the USA Today has a different take on social media.  The article points out that social media might be distracting to students.   (As if we needed an article to point this out)

Students who said they used Facebook reported grade-point averages between 3.0 and 3.5; those who don't use it said they average 3.5 to 4.0. Also, Facebook users said they studied one to five hours a week, vs. non-users' 11 hours or more.

To narrowly stereotype students might be a stretch, it can be distracting to adults as well.  I'll admit, I try to keep my facebook closed down during the day for fear it will absorb hours of my work day.

I am sure this is true for many adults.  An article in UPI.com it said, Facebook's popularity is growing most quickly among women over 55, says Inside Facebook, which tracks Facebook's growth.

There are about 1.5 million female users older than 55 on the Web site, a 550 percent increase over six months ago. By comparison, membership among people younger than 25 grew by less than 20 percent during the same period, the site says.

Facebook and Twitter although seem to be similar, I approach them very differently.  I make sure to keep my Twiiter up all day.  I make a point to find new people to add to my Twitter every day.  Twitter is not something to be worked passively.  It is certainly a useful marketing tool.  But the key here is it takes work to make it useful.

Bottom line is although social media does allow people to reach whole other nations of people they would not have had access to ten years ago, the fundamentals of business still apply.  It is important to put in the work, to execute, to focus and to stay sharp, because in today's business world if you lose any one of these it could be deadly.