Is Tweeting Really Social?

Being a recruiter for over 10 years, I have been trying to reinvent the way I recruit.  I am active on most of the social networking sites - LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. Recently my company has taken the plunge into the social media world.  I have been doing some research on social media and to effectively use it to recruit candidates globally.  So without really knowing the best ways to use social media to recruit I find myself looking at various YouTube videos and tutorials that just talk in circles.  So I have decided to take some time and do the research myself.  After spending the last few days on Twitter - not learning how to tweet (I know how to do that) - but trying to find creative ways to not only tweet the open jobs I am working on, but to find way to creatively connect with more people.  LinkedIn and Facebook make it relatively easy to build networks but I am having a hell of a time with Twitter.  And then it hit me like lightening - why has recruiting and networking become so "anti social"?  During my days of Career Coaching I would tell my clients that they need to be out there networking - yes physically networking, physically shaking hands with people.  And LinkedIn took off like a rocket and I became an SME with LinkedIn.  I taught my clients the proper way to use LinkedIn and how to make "introductions".  "Introductions"???  Via computer??? Now listen I am not "old school"....It just seems like the information age has taken over our lives and the way we choose to meet (or not) and network with people. So now I sit and ponder - is social networking really a way of being social?  Or is it just a way for people to become more shut in than they already were.  In today's job market it is more about who you than what you know.  So how can one claim to "know" so many people when they have never physically spoken on the phone or have met face-to-face?