2010 may be the end of the beginning for social media in many respects but while the novelty may wear off for many the utility has just begun to be realized for some. In 2008/09 we saw social media and the Obama campaign lead the Democrats to victory and then afterward invite the world to visit Whitehouse 2.0, we saw Iranian political protesters reaching the world and each other through Twitter, and we saw the power of social media over the physical infrastructure of the internet after the death of Michael Jackson crashed the internet.

So is all the exciting stuff over? Not really.

In 2010 social media will see growth from business, in particular larger businesses who have finally caught on to the tangible utility of social media by driving customers into physical storefronts on Black Friday via Twitter and Facebook. Social media ROI will become quantifiable as companies really start to explore this medium as a revenue generator, understanding the psychology of consumers once again becomes key in this capitalist scouting mission already underway. It will continue to be explored in a political context as well as by NGOs and philanthropists and supposedly, old people will start tweeting. Not fun enough for you? Read on.

Few of us bloggers have been really comparing the sociological aspects of social media to social trends that appear to play themselves out over and over again in the corporeal world. We may have new toys but the psychology that drives our behavior hasn’t changed a whole lot over the past year compared to these technologies. One changing aspect of social media that many analysts have predicted is an increasing exclusiveness of social groups. We will build our enclaves and hideouts, our social media tree-forts if you will; just as we do in the wild and in cities. (I consider the wild to be anything outside of a city pretty much)

Augmented reality will also be factored into new apps and developments explored through social media platforms. Layers is a great example of an augmented reality app and it was explored here in senses earlier this year.

So don’t despair, the fun isn’t all spent quite yet. 2010 should be shaping up to be another fascinating year for social media.

Control of your brand identity is such a crucial concept in today’s marketing climate. This is arguably the key reason that to businesses, social media has become the new star whose gravity is inescapable to all but the most stalwart luddites. It is also why any company should either be very concerned or very excited about Layers. The concept is vertical web design open to anyone and everyone. You, your kid, my mom, can visit a website through their Layers.com account and post their own content on it. Videos, commentary, unicorns or giant burning pentagrams can grace the website of the mechanic who ripped you off or the university that didn’t accept you.

It’s an opportunity for commentary, very interesting commentary that can support, dispute, refute, or clarify content- whether you’re crazy for cocopuffs and want to let the world know it or are really perplexed about the Vancouver Canucks inability to find a high powered and speedy goal scoring winger. You can now freely express your opinion all over their site, and share it with all your friends and family etc. But it’s more than just fun and games and the venting of your frustrations regarding the frivolties of 21st century life.

I predict Layers will be used extensively in “Web-protesting”. I’m coining it now. Web protesting will offer NGOs, civil rights groups, unions, and disgruntled members of the public, a medium to qualify or discredit information on corporate sites and government sites in particular. Like a brand new kind of “digital graffiti”. (oops, coining that too thank you) It’s a no-brainer, because it’s exactly what I would do- and I have no brain. (I’m cloud based)

Web doppelgangers have been created before (Check out The Yes Men) in which websites nearly identical to those of politicians or corporations where created but with subtle changes that revealed a contradictory version of that company or politician’s actions and ideas. Layers now means that the construct, source code, back end, is all taken care of- the rest is arts and crafts. Scissors and glue. Sparkles and macaroni.

Companies, governments, and communications specialists will either likely be forced to ignore this and hope it goes away-which has been a popular strategy throughout history- or fight fire with fire and embrace layers. This really ramps up the information battle, and the battle to control brands and perceptions. Just another new social media tool for us to play with, but this one I like for its punkish edge. How long until the developers of Layers end up in court? Let’s start the clock ticking now.

I also predict that the most hilarious jokes in the history of web programming will also be brought to us thanks to Layers, possibly obliterating office productivity for several months.