Ben, thanks for the informative, yet chilling insight. I'm feeling a bit naive right now, not because I didn't know most of what you posted (I didn't), but because I could have known if I had really bothered to find out.

Do you think that platforms such as those that you described will become a reality in our lifetime? I imagine something drastic has to happen before people reject the convenience of conventional social media and adopt a technology that today is considered somewhat of a nerdy niche-thing. Hmm, then again, so were computers and the internet 20 years back.