Instead of using the very board labels of extrovert and introvert we should break down the components so we can mix and match and come up with something the describes a person's personality more accurately.
Prepare yourself for an onslaught of comments about Myers-Briggs/eColors/etc.
Personality-type classifications have their uses, but they're wildly over-used in the corporate world (or that's been my experience, anyway).
Just wait until you've worked in an environment where you're required to wear a two-color label based on your personality type (I'm not exaggerating, unfortunately... At least blue and green are my two favorite colors?).
A large problem I've been having with the general online discussion surrounding introversion/extroversion is how definitions and perceptions of those words vary. When I think introversion or extroversion, it's already broken down into the narrowest scope possible - internal validation vs external validation.
Everything else that most people associate with introversion (shyness, social awkwardness, quiet/loud) really has nothing to do with the introvert/extrovert discussion other than they tend to afflict one type more than the other. Correlation, not causation.
Shy, socially awkward, quiet extroverts do exist and they have an even harder time in today's society than shy, socially awkward, quiet introverts. The latter can at least have a rich inner life while the former needs something that's being denied to him - external social acceptance.
