Struggling With Social Media

In the past I have had a negative view of "social" features on the internet.  I had a MySpace account a few years ago and I didn't care for it. I really wasn't interested in trying to feel a connection with someone just because we were in the same 10th grade science class, so I eventually lost interest and deleted my account. I signed up for Facebook, but just followed a couple of friends and played a game or two.

I took a Persuasive Marketing course last term (taught by S. Anthony Iannarino) that caused me to rethink my relationship to online networking.  I've since updated a long forgotten LinkedIn account and created a Twitter account.  I'm working on making my Facebook account more professional, but I'm beginning to run into the same issues as with MySpace.  How can I use Facebook to find new contacts and stay in touch with the people I want while tuning out the noise?

I've found a couple of helpful resources like 32 Ways to Use Facebook for Business and How to Market Your Business with Facebook, but neither really addresses the issue of finding quality contacts rather than just having as many random friends as possible. I also found 8 Things to Avoid When Building a Community, which gives me something to aspire to.  For now I will try to learn as much as I can as I go along.