I just got back from a great lunch with a local executive who helps run a mobile application company. One of the primary things they are specializing in is building mobile social networks and helping other companies plug into those networks. We had a great conversation about the future of mobile and social networks and the challenges that social networks currently face in entering the mobile arena.

It is also common knowledge that social networking sites already face a challenge within their businesses to effectively monetize their sites. So far, nobody has been extremely effective at it. Facebook has been pulling in new executives to try and make an attempt at new monetization strategies but ultimately working to monetize a site which I argue will not be a central destination point a few years from now is relatively worthless.

Instead, the social network sites are going to turn to mobile as one of the central locations for monetization. Text messages and subscriptions are the norm on mobile carriers. This leads me to believe that perhaps social networks will potentially become a subscription service. The only counter argument to this is that Twitter is not currently monetizing their site aside from one ad that’s displayed on the Japanese version of their site.

While there are no answers as to what will happen in the future, I think a lot of potential for social networks exist on mobile. The real question is if the mobile applications will be monetized or if Twitter is destroying the opportunity for future players. How do you think social networks and mobile will work together?

Last night after reading Noah Kagan’s post about how there is no money in social networking I began seriously thinking about the issue. If there is no money in social networking, why am I investing so much time reading and writing about it? Ultimately, where is the real money to be made out of this? The end result is what I keep coming up with time and time again: personal branding.

If you are looking to make money off of Facebook applications or your own social network, odds are not in your favor. On Facebook for instance, only the top 100 companies at the most are generating substantial revenue from social networks. The rest are scrambling to figure out a way to make money or spending somebody else’s hard earned cash. The largest value to be gained from social networking and social media is building social equity.

Somebody will soon figure out an effective way to monetize relationships (most likely Facebook) but for the most part it will be extremely challenging. As such, I’d suggest leveraging these new technologies to build brand you. I know I posted this yesterday but as I think more about whether these technologies can currently be effectively monetized, the reality is no. It is the brands that end up generating the revenue. So what are you doing to build brand you?