What does the future hold for the social media specialist?

In the days of yore, when alchemists transformed lead into gold and “digital ninjas” practiced their magic among us, social media strategists could dazzle lesser mortals with their skills on Twitter and Facebook.

Today, every communicator is well versed in social platforms, kids with digital fluency are crowding the workforce, and even busy CEOs have figured out how to engage in a bracing Twitter feud.

So is there a future for all these social media strategists, these mavens and gurus and Sherpas and samurai? Or will they be cursed to wander the wastelands as digital ronin?

We rounded up opinions on the evolution of their roles through a HARO request and from some of the participants in an upcoming SXSW panel titled, “Your Social Media Job is Dead. Now What?”

The conclusion of many: The job may not be dead, but you’d better broaden your portfolio of skills.

Evolving beyond mere tweets

Reached by phone, panelist Daniel Honigman, co-founder of what he slyly describes as a stealth startup, says the job is becoming a more integral part of the brands they serve.