I think the analogy is apt. The medium, unlike a printed newspaper for example, enables communication as much as it enables one-way publishing. And isn't the la

I think the analogy is apt. The medium, unlike a printed newspaper for example, enables communication as much as it enables one-way publishing. And isn't the latter a subset of communication? Think of a personal site. What is that, if not communication about oneself? And once you blog on that site or publish essays [1], the line between a publishing / communication medium heavily blurs. There's nothing inherent about the web that says it must be one thing or the other — it's how people have and continue to use it. There's also a lot to be said about the "fun" of creating things on a global communication platform. Many free tools like YouTube, Instagram, or Twitter are popular because they let the average person utilize the same power of the web we've always had. Some people monetize what they create on those platforms; others use it to communicate; commercial entities create "content" on it; and yet more people use it just for fun. It's all about how you use the medium. [1] http://www.paulgraham.com/articles.html http://www.paulgraham.com/articles.html