How Do YOU Measure YOUR Social Media Success?

I recently read a post about a college student, interning in Social Media, who expressed doubts about pursuing a career in Social media: http://tinyurl.com/Worthwhile-Pursuit - he made reference to a personal lack of success with Social Media.
The student's major question discussed whether he should focus his attention on (the new)Social Media as opposed to (the old) traditional marketing? In my opinion we should learn both. My belief is that the fundamentals as learned by studying traditional marketing skills will only enhance one's success in Social Media Marketing.
Many people involved in Social Media lack the basics I was fortunate to learn in College (Cornell University, BS-Communication Arts). Those include basic: spelling, grammar, punctuation, proof-reading and word definitions. You don't get a second chance to make a first impression.
My question is: How do YOU measure YOUR (personal) Social Media success?
To me sharing ideas with lots of influential friends and followers is great, but the bottom line ultimately comes down to "MONETIZATION." How is the time invested contributing to your company's (and your personal) bottom line?
If you are a SUCCESSFUL Social Media Marketer, please share your program and/or formula for success for the benefit of those among us who may have doubts about the potential for a future in Social Media Marketing.
Thanks in advance for your positive and constructive feedback.
Rick Clark a.k.a. "twitfaced"
http://card.ly/rcl4rk