What is Social Networking?

You know I am still wondering about this whole social networking deal. Yes it seems to work, but I don’t now if I’m totally sold on the whole concept. Social networking sites like Digg, Friendster, Facebook and Myspace are pretty neato, but you know do you actually get alot of marketing power promotion out of it?
The big topic in the forums is whether or not blasting out myspace bulliten messages works or not.  I say no. What kind of social netoworking is this? I mean realistically it is like being at a huge stadium watching your favorite band with others who dig your type of music (kinda like how myspace connects you with people in your “social network”) and holding up a small 5X11 piece of paper with your advertisement.  It is not like anyone is going to see it.
So I say don’t waste your money on massic bulliten postings!
But other sites like Digg and Stumbleupon I think are atleast a but cooler in the social networking field, mostly because they allow you to become a buzz and have others move your buzz along. Stumble upon is cool and I must admit that I DO get lots of traffic from it, but also I have to say that I stumble upon other cool sites that people share that actually end up in my bookmarks.
So wrapping it up, social networking is any site that puts you in control of your portfolio and allows you to share your portfolio (be it music, art, money, whatever) with others. This is the viral attribute of social networking…you will be suprised to find what ends up being viral.