"Evolved" is not the word I would use. As the Internet was already showing signs of being twisted by its own mythos in the 1990's, there was plenty of then-obvious opportunity that resulted in the type of profit-driven curation we see today. I remember the Internet then, but I feel a lot of people allow the lense of nostalgia to twist it into something far more wild and pure than it actually was.

The post you are replying to mentioned TikTok.

TikTok used to suggest all sorts of long-form articles. Tiktok is all short-form video; a bunch of vapid trash.