Of course there is a difference. We're witnessing the transformation of what soap opera means. The classic, feuding families, happenings in a small apartment complex or what happens in a small town soap has become a thing of the past. Largely.
Various other types of TV series took elements of soap operas and used (transformed) them for their own purposes. So we have Heroes (a bad soap, but a soap), Lost, Brothers & Sisters, ER, 24, Fringe... Those are all soaps.
Genre studies is an interesting field. At least for a while.
They do that sometimes. But it is a part of the show and you just have to accept it.