Owning v. Renting your online marketing channel

I really like the distinction this blog post makes about owned v. rented online marketing channels. As the post illustrates, your website is the channel you own, while your company's presence on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, etc. are the places you rent space to market your company.
The author makes the point that companies must do both in order to be sucessful, but if you have to choose one over the other, it's better to focus your efforts on the property you own: your website.
While I think that's true -- that you'd want to pick your website over your social media presence -- I think it's becoming increasingly difficult to ignore social media, even for the smallest businesses. A website without a social media presence is kind of like a tree falling in the woods. If there's no one there to hear it, does it make a sound. Social media is how brands get heard today. If you want your company to make a noise, you better have your rented social media channels established.