I know this treads closely to backward-looking nostalgia, but I really do think the Web was better with 1) BLOGS for people who have a lot to say, and 2) FORUMS for people who want conversations.

If you wanted to talk about comics with other people who like comics, you’d go to a forum dedicated to comics. If you wanted to follow a public figure and comment on what they say, you’d go to their blog.

Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are a mishmash of those that does neither well, with the added negatives of throwing everyone into the same crowded room, being controlled by just a few dominating companies, and the whole data-mining business model.

A blog is pretty cheap and easy to maintain. A forum takes a bit more work, but as long as it isn’t huge, and members of the community it serves help, it’s manageable.