Where is the social in social media lately?

I have been active on social media sites especially Twitter for about 2 ½ yrs and I have to say it has really changed in that time frame and not necessarily for the better.  When I first started, I meet people; had conversations; found interesting news sites; podcasts and blogs to read that I never would have discovered on my own. Most of my business contacts were found and nurtured online. Then the big push came that businesses have to market on social media.  Gone was the only 80/20 rule (80% engagement and 20% self promotion).  My streams on Twitter and later Facebook were no longer engaging conversations.  They now tend to be comprised of 3 types of posts: cheerleading for the latest wonderful selling venue or product,  complaining about a least favorite venue or the government and post after post of items for sale.  ...  Read More