You're Not Japanese Just Because You Own a Toyota

Following up on some of the thinking in a previous post...

Social media is the sexy, "in" thing for marketing these days.
But far too many brands seem to think that simply having a Facebook profile, a MySpace page, a blog, an RSS feed, or even hosting a Wiki or forum equates to "doing" social media.

In order for it to truly work, and to be truly social, you have to honestly think of it as a community. A Facebook application is only social if people are actively using it and sharing it with others AND it inherently helps them communicate or share.
A Wiki is only social if the company is fairly hands-off and trusts other users to edit it appropriately.
A MySpace page is only social if it becomes a gathering place or a connector for likeminded (and not-so-likeminded) people.

Until your brand is regularly acting like a participant in the social media space, on par with every other user, you're still just sponsoring a marketing channel.

I like analogies...
If you move to another country, you're just a tourist. Even if you own all the gadgets and "stuff" that a local might own, you're still just visiting.

But, if you truly want to be a member of the community, you need to become friends with some locals, go where the locals go, speak the language (at least a little), eat locally-produced food, and actually understand your neighbours' beliefs, habits, styles, actions... You can still keep your own personality and approach to things, but you need to be honestly immersed in the culture, not just know about it.