That's what Brian Wieser just threw out at Josh Stylman, invoking one of the many McLuhlanisms he researched on his cab ride down here. Stylman responded by paraphrasing McLuhan that people are defined by the media they use. Stylman says the important thing to keep in mind when it comes to social media is that, "It isless about the media, and more about the people." "Societies have always been shaped more by the media they communicate with, than the content..." was the exact McLuhan quote that I probably just garbled. So Stylman and Wieser are heavily …

That's what Brian Wieser just throught at Josh Stylman, invoking one of the many McLuhlanisms he researched on his cab ride down here. Stylman responded by paraphrasing McLuhan that people are defined by the media they use. Stylman says the important thing to keep in mind when it comes to social media is that, "It isless about the media, and more about the people." "Societies have always been shaped more by the media they communicate with, than the content..." was the exact McLuhan quote that I probably just garbled. So Stylman and Wieser are heavily debating …

That's how I replied to Josh Stylman, co-CEO of Reprise Media when we met a Coffee Shop in Union Square when he asked me how the "day" was going so far. "Well said," Stylman said, adding that he thought Twitter was evolving and morphing into something else now that it has reached critical mass. Stylman couldn't say for sure what it was becoming, but he seemed to think that it was moving to something better for users and marketers alike. You should know that Stylman believes "all media is becoming social media." The only question is whether that …

That is one of many McLuhanisms Brian Wieser is searching for on a Marshall McLuhan library Web site to help him narrow his definition of social media.

"It has to be portable," he says, adding: "Consumers generating content, and influences perceptions, whether it is public perceptions or private perceptions."

The one area of social media that can be offline is pharma," Monfried suggested, noting that with all the rules and regulations governing prescription drugs, much of the marketing surrounding prescription drugs is really social interactions between consumers suffering an ailment, and the conversations they have with doctors, pharmacists, and ultimately, other parts of the healthcare system -- none of which may actually take place online.

That's what Wieser asked Lotame's Monfried. "Most of it is not intent based," he replied, adding thatmMost of it, Monfried argues is people simply posting status updates for their friends.

"It's like your postal example. It's a piece of data, but is it social?," Lotame's Andy Monfried asks Brian wieser. "I don't think so. It's like saying everything is social media." Monfried's view is that social media needs a data stream associated with it for it to have any practical application for marketers. Monfried points to me typing into my BlackBerry, and says that me uploading this conversation up on MediaPost Raw is social media, but until it is tagged, and categorized, that content has little context or value. Monfried and Wieser debate the merits od defining …

Nifty chart on Brian Wieser's twitter page, if you can find it. It's a chart showing the u.s. Postal services revenues fro 1790 on. "Is that social media?," Wieser asks during our cab ride across town to Lotame. I argue that unless those letters were shared with more than one other person then it is. If not, then it's not. Us postal service revenues fro 1790 Is that social media?