Is Social Media mainline advertising or direct marketing?

Many a times we are stuck with 'this is not mainline' 'this is not dm!'. So, what is it? Well, Social Media lends itself or rather enhances the two worlds. While you connect with people who could be strangers is mainline work. And when you form a following and community you start to connect on a one-to-one basis. Lets put it this way: it is both, the customer decides on how close or how far they want to be with it [brand]. Social Media is an integration of the way people choose to connect. It cannot be marked as 'this' or 'that'. Lets not look at it like some alien of neither world. It is what you and I do to connect online. It is what our customers are addicted to. It is happening while you are reading this post!