One of the coolest social networking activities I’ve been enjoying lately is a discussion on the LinkedIn group “Future of Social Media.”

Member Endaf Kerfoot posted a great topic in April 2009:

“Introduce yourself to members of the group – who you are, what you do, where your social media strategy is at/going, what you want to know more about, where you see your own Future of Social Media.”

At last count, 405 of the 3000 members had introduced themselves — including me and Michael Sherman.

Michael is from Long Island, NY; currently resides in South Florida; and has worked in marketing positions for seven years. Like me he is enamored with All Things Social Media, so I asked if he’d like to contribute his insights to my blog . . . so here’s Michael . . .

The Future of Social Media for 2010 and Beyond

Guest Post by Michael Sherman

So many people think Social Media is in its infancy. I don’t agree. I think it’s been around longer then you think.

Back in the late 1990s when I first experienced the World Wide Web. I would come home from school and jump onto my father’s computer and go on those famous AOL chat rooms. It was great. Instantly, I could interact with people from all over the world.

To me, that was social media — real time conversation.

Now when you think of social media today what comes to mind?

Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn: Amazing communication platforms with capabilities we haven’t even thought of yet. Hey, I wouldn’t have met Shari without using them.

The thing with learning social media is that you can’t just read a book and become a genius. Technology is changing faster then you can change your clothes.

Anyone who considers him or herself a social media expert is just bragging. It is impossible to be an expert in this area because of the constant changes.

If I was writing for this blog last year, the article would have been about MySpace and Friendster. Next year it may be Google Wave or something we can only dream about today.

So if I had to make some predictions for the future of social media I would have to say that it’s a medium that isn’t leaving us anytime soon. It is going to keep getting better and better.

Two Predictions

Social TV: Video will become even more important and relevant as we go forward. It will be intertwined with live television like never before. No longer will you need to vote for your American Idol on the phone. You will be able to do it right from Facebook and be able to interact with the hosts and producers in real time to turn Reality TV into Social TV. Television is made for consumers, and they will have a say on what they want to see. Social media can make that happen.

Even more social: People will be partying virtually. No matter if you are in New York, San Francisco or Hong Kong — social media will allow you to experience the same party experience no matter how far away you are from the other people. The amenities will be the same, and everyone can see and hear everyone else: A Tweetup on Steroids.

In a nutshell, social media is going to allow people to be able to interact with each other faster and quicker then ever before — in ways that they never thought were imaginable.

Michael can be reached via his LinkedIn profile. If you want to make predictions for the future of social media, you can join our LinkedIn group FUTURE SOCIAL MEDIA [check out Groups Directory] and/or write a guest post for this blog.

BTW, if you click the photo of the panel above, you will get to a past story on a panel discuusion of the Roadmap for Social Media’s Future featuring Steve Rubel, Michael Brito, Angela LoSasso, and Richard Brewer-Hay.