The State of Social in 2010…

Ziggy Marley sang that if you don’t know your past, you don’t know your future.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the future of social applications, and consequently am retracing ten recent thoughts on the subject…

And now, the countdown.

10. LOOK: because of the ubiquity of follows and video in social applications, we are always being watched.

9. “Pandas and Lobsters” explains why it’s hard to build great social applications.

8. “Whales and Lobsters” explains why it’s lucrative to build great social applications.

7. So I told TechCrunch that Facebook is worth more than people think.

6. And I told TechCrunch that Twitter is worth more than people think.

5. And I told TechCrunch that Google is struggling with usability issues in social applications.

4. So I told Gigaom that Google should stop playing games and get serious about social applications.

3. But I have the feeling that conversations with Google about social applications haven’t landed the target.

2. Mind you, being a Facebook whale is an epic fail, too.

1. Luckily for Facebook, advertisers have been embracing Facebook so much, that they have the money and time to figure it all out.

Which leads us to the question…

What next great social application should be developed?

Troutgirl and I know the answer. Now we just need time and the right resources.

It is not a cliché: There is good money, and there is bad money. Good money can make a great idea better; bad money can destroy a great idea.

Now comes the fun part. The part that puts the “fun” in funding.

Such is the state of social in 2010.