What we remember fondly about our past is that it was simpler. That is quite a break from our very complex lives. Nostalgia feels inevitable.
What i remember about the early days of steemit is the VERY high wall that existed between being paid and not being paid. That long tail didn't really exist. I got lucky and made it to just above the threshold, many didn't.
The problem with replacing f-c-book is, as you say, they are an all in one communicate with your friends platform. And it is not really chat, its not really the wall, nor is it the feed. It is that it allows you to find your friends. The search feature is very solid. It can go through your phone book, your email, your life, and find your friends.
If any of my real life friends were on STEEM i would never know. There are thousands of accounts i have never interacted with.
(gone are the days of me reading through the NEW tab)
So, really the future will be a bunch of apps that work similar to what f-c-book apps look like today, but everything behind the scenes will be turned inside out. Everyone will have a wall server of their own. Their data is their data, and will be shared only with who they want.
You're right. In those early days there were a select few who were getting those mega payouts. I'm thankful for those early days because operating on this platform got me started on the path of learning everything I do about cryptocurrency today.
Very valid point about the search feature. You would need to know everyone's user name who's migrating so you can "follow" them. I experience a glitch with that even. I regularly notice that I'm no longer following people that I've followed for years on here. Sometimes I discover it by accident and sometimes I just notice I haven't seen anything from them for a while and have to go searching then refollow.