What is Social?

It's an ambitious title, I admit. I've been on some social networks this year, often for just seeing what the experience is like.
I think the nuts-and-bolts mechanism that either works or not (in me, in us), comes down to sharing: sharing a thought, a gripe, a detail, a suggestion... sometimes solicited, sometimes not. From there it gets dicey and contextual.
But without diving into that, I just want to share (...) how this insight has warped my offline experience. A dozen or so offline objects, moments, and habits now strike me as fundamentally social.
My three favorite examples of "social hardware," for example:

• The 3-way plug adapter I carry with me through airports & to to conferences - I've actually had friendly chats and swapped business cards after walking to the head of the "outlet line"
• My camera, or camera phone. "Hey, could you take our picture?" so often inspires questions, comments, and suggestions.
• Coffee maker. Not unlike on Del.icio.us or even Twitter, the incremental cost of supplying 1 more cup is negligible, when you're already making yourself a cup. Do you have (coffee) subscribers?

And then there's a beloved offline social recommendation engine: my local wine guy. Walk into Mayfare Liquor, and a guy named Steve would invariably grab whatever bottle you had picked out and ask you why you picked it. "Because it was cheap, ...and red?" was usually my response. He'd put it back, and return with two others. "Try these and tell me what you think." He'd zip to the next person, "Hi X, what did you think about those two bottles I gave you?" (I'd usually listen in...)
I stopped buying wine anywhere else. I loved this guy. I loved that my rate of satisfaction was almost guaranteed to be higher letting him guide me than browsing labels alone.
Well, I'm using the past tense here because Steve is no longer at Mayfare Liquor, apparently after having a falling out with the management. I walk in there now, stand there quietly, poking at bottles, realizing that I can go to any wine store and have this experience. I miss the recommendations steeped in a steady stream of consumers, and packaged in a friendly, no-nonsense personality.
Kind of sounds like eCommerce in the 90's, Web 1.0 world, eh?