I have also been thinking about social gaming a lot. It's a fledgling medium for gaming, but it's one that we can't ignore. I believe it's poor taste to look down upon people who participate in social games, it's a natural evolution of how games (in their current sense) are becoming more a part the norm in our society. As a person who could be described as a "gamer" and an "adventurer" within the forested realm of Game Design, I am happy that more people can be exposed to something that I have loved since I was a child.
However it's also hard for me to ignore that many of the criticisms against social gaming are true. Games in the social media lack the polish and forethought of their PC and console brethren. There aren't enough games that would attract gamers and so-called "non-gamers" (a silly description, because they're obviously playing games) alike. There needs to be more "play" in these games and less busy work, and perhaps making it slightly less about the money would be nice, I find that it's been corrupting the mechanics of many Facebook games, making them less likely to be played by people.
I'd also like to note that we, as Game Designers, will go nowhere by looking down upon any of the gaming populace, any person could be one of our customers, one of those who will experience something we've made. Just think about how valuable it is that someone would take as much time out of their busy lives to play something you've designed, there are not only other games that they could be playing, but other important things they could be doing.
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