How "social" is social media?

The managers of social media sites are trying to get people to become fans of their pages or follow their Twitter accounts.

Once people start following Twitter and become fans of Facebook sites, the next goal is to get those users to read the content -- not just skim the content, but read and retain it.

That is a very difficult task. Some companies and organizations are using prizes to lure in users to "like" statuses or to comment on event pages. Other companies make competitions to see who can which users gain the most friends in the shortest time.

How "social" is social media though? Yes, everyone follows favorite people and looks at favorite pages, but how will companies get audiences to comment or respond, to get involved and feel attached to a company or organization.

The future of social media is unknown. Will there be regulation of social media or will social media continue to grow to be a bigger part of society?