There is a debate over M2M and the value that it will bring to MNO’s like AT&T. Will it replace voice and messaging and really be the future of all things connected?

“It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future,” said Yogi Berra. Thanks for that common sense reminder.

If M2M is successful, what about M2S or machine to social? That certainly has to come first. For all of the predictions of M2M value, today’s world would more easily incorporate M2S. That’s my prediction: M2S will be a common part of social networking before M2M.

In fact, it’s not much of a prediction at all, since an M2S wave has already started. When your Fitbit reports to Facebook or Twitter, or, your mobile automatically logs your location, that’s the beginning of M2S. Our home video and music consumption and game play reports content and play levels to our social networks, too. Perhaps our collective friends will be able to vote on what content gets DVR’d at home so that a person can watch their friends favorites, without going person-to-person.

I hate going to the extreme of this prediction, because it almost assuredly won’t play out this way, but, I love the tried and true M2M connected home with the ‘smart fridge’ vision, communicating lamps and online treadmill. Standard M2M logic says if you run enough, the fridge of the future will unlock for a few minutes and let you eat. Now throw social into that mix. I want my running partner’s treadmill to update my treadmill and challenge me with a specific run that he did. Maybe I want friends to know what I’m cooking in my oven, with photo’s, direct from oven to social network. I would like to see where my friends’ cars have driven, speed, location, mileage…and how my group could carpool together, be more social and save resources.

Social makes M2M more compelling. What we need are the tools to integrate the M components with the S components. We need the social layer.