I'm looking forward to the second generation, in fact I've registered here because I'm mostly interested in these new coins, although I'm finding that the straightforward means of investment in them is to get some BTC first.

Bitcoin and derivatives are basically similar to asset-backed currency(gold, etc.) with the big innovation being that it's both computerized and decentralized; this is a pretty good starting point, but it means bitcoin will only be "as good as" gold, not better. At the core what I think really matters in any future crypto is whether it is producing fair and sustainable economic outcomes for its users. To make changes in that, you have to reevaluate how wealth redistributes over time within a currency, which in turn means that the philosophies behind cryptocurrency will start changing to encompass a much broader range of economic thought than the extant anarcho-capitalist/goldbug types.

And the 2G coins are taking little steps away from the Bitcoin model; Mastercoin is all about derivatives trading, eMunie automatically manages a target inflation rate, and Nxt has no mining. The additional features baked on top of them sweeten the deal. There are reasons to believe that all of these different approaches could have success, and I plan to back up my statement with some speculative investment among them. Personally I see there being a reason to have different currencies for different purposes, rather than "one to rule them all."