I sat on a panel at SUPERCOMM's Digital Media Forum in Chicago on Friday called, "Redefining Social Media." (Eric Forst of Visible Technologies and Edward Moran of Deloitte & Touche spoke with me, ably moderated by Patty Brown of The Content Strategy Group.) The name of the panel initially threw me, because it feels like anything old enough to be redefined seems a bit passé, which social media most decidedly is not. But I think there is a point to be made about social media and how it is maturing.

My boss Rob Key at Converseon likes to say that "All media is social." To me, that captures what redefining social media is about--in a few years, we won't need to talk about "social" media anymore because we'll have made the adjustment to what media has become, a jumping off point for interaction, for conversation, and for community.

"Are we there yet?" Much like a vacation with the kids, the ride sometimes seems interminable as we wait for social media to "take off." In fact, my belief is that the real change we are experiencing right now is not in social media itself, but rather in how businesses are beginning to use it. Where a year ago businesses were "looking at" social media as a possible focus area, now they are at least testing the water, if not jumping in with both feet.

The down economy, while painful for many of us in so many ways, has actually accelerated the use of social media, because we can't afford to keep shelling out for the old ways of doing things. While large companies are shutting down TV budgets, small companies are experimenting with online video, blogs, and Twitter, because they are realizing that the full-page Yellow Pages ad doesn't work the way it used to.

So, to me, redefining social media is more about the willingness of so many businesses, large and small, to give it a try. When times are tough, everything is re-examined and what seemed risky is suddenly less scary than the prospect of revenue shortfalls. The fear of trying new things, or of being wrong, or of making a mistake withers in the face of the fear of losing your business.

So, if you haven't yet stuck a toe in the social media waters, promise yourself to do it now. Not every business needs online videos, or blogs, or Twitter, but very few wouldn't benefit from at least one of them. Examine what you are good at, identify the online neighborhoods where your customers hang out, and make adecision to at least start visiting those neighborhoods, if only to listen. Then, after you get a bit more comfortable, decide how you'd like to join the conversation and engage.

Your business won't fall over dead if you continue to sit on the social media sidelines, but it probably won't grow as quickly, either. Social media usually costs little more than an investment of your time, so what is the harm of trying it out? If it doesn't seem to be helping, you can always stop. Perhaps the big risk isn't trying social media, but rather not trying it.