Has social media ruined the web?

Open thread: An Iranian blogger thinks the rise of social media is killing the potential of the web. Is he right?

Has the web lost its power to drive social change? This is the conclusion of Iranian blogger Hossein Derakhshan, imprisoned by the regime in 2008 and released and pardoned in 2014.

During his time in prison, the rise of smartphones and apps had changed the online world. Blogging and independent websites had been overtaken by social media networks, with the likes* of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram dominating the market.