Is Social Media the 'New Marketing'

About two months ago, I chimed in on a Twitter-conversation (twitversation?) about this:

Thought of the day: Marketing is no longer about "psychology", but rather
"sociology". Sociology is the new Psychology.

The conversation that ensued was interesting. (Check it out here. You can use the “show conversation” tool on my tweets and any of the others to see details) The discussion was a good representation of the friction between ‘old-school’ marketing pro’s and social media evangelists.
Is social media changing marketing? Sure. Technological innovations have a tendency to do that. But I am not convinced that social media is “the new marketing”, rather it is a branch of marketing. The reality is that consumers have always communicated with each other. Networks are not new. The change is in the way we communicate, isn’t it? Social media has made it easier for people/companies to communicate that maybe wouldn’t have before.
An article on emarketer.com addresses this issue as well. Is anyone surprised when they read this?

“Because online social networks do not capture the real social graph,
tapping into those extended, real-world connections are important for
marketers.”

Of course conversations happen offline as well! Yes, social media
offers a dramatically new and exciting way for companies to communicate with
consumers and vice versa, but the principles of ‘old school’ marketing still
remain true, and marketing and media are not synonyms.