> You're literally describing the way forums, messageboards, mailing lists and everything worked before Twitter and Facebook came along

Yes. And while the GP was hyberbolic, I think what we saw is that a large %age of people preferred one stop shopping.

Speaking for myself, the thing I love(d) the most about Twitter was the consolidation. It effectively replaced a bunch of message boards, online sites, and other things I would check throughout the day. One site gave me banter with friends, talking shop with professional acquaintances, weather, news, gossip, etc.