One of the interesting discussions that we are having now with our clients is whether “being social” is using social networks as a distribution channel for existing products or creating new products that engage groups of consumers and in so doing create their own social networks.

Clearly, there is a lot of activity around the former. These efforts most often take the form of more traditional advertising like the offers we are now getting for FreeCreditReport.com on my Facebook mini news feed, the infamous Acaia diet that seems to have taken over the advertising “dead zone” at least on my Facebook page to more creative campaigns like that which Citi recently did with Susan G. Komen on Facebook or what MySpace is doing with MyAds.

But, the announcement this week of Facebook’s foray into online payments is an example of products that ARE social. Next week, they will launch an application that allows multiple people to chip in to buy a single prepaid card at a number of stores like Banana Republic and the Gap. This is not only creative, but solves a real social problem. Who hasn’t been asked to “chip in” to buy a friend a present? Now, instead of saddling one person with the chore of collecting the money and schlepping to the store to buy the gift and then wrap it, Facebook now makes it easy for everyone – and has just found a new way to monetize its assets in the process. It’s also a great example of what happens when you put friendship first and product second.

We think that these sorts of schemes are what will truly differentiate brands and allow social networks to be monetized. We admit that this is exponentially more difficult than pushing ads for merchant products, but can be exponentially more rewarding too.

We’ll watch how this campaign does and report back in a few weeks.

How do you think it will do?