Thought: One of the most valuable features of Twitter as a publishing platform is that the writer has a much better sense of who they’re communicating with. There’s a “Following” list which puts names and reputations behind a readership. Furthermore, the writer can indirectly assess the likelihood of their content being consumed based on followers’ account activity. “Blogs” and older publishing platforms don’t have this vibrance; they have pageviews, time on site, and other metrics distant from the purpose of publishing.

Idea: make it easy for readers to submit their comment as a guest piece based on its length (e.g. suggestion interface after it passes). Like YouTube offers video responses, dedicated community members should be able to work their way into more empowered publishing positions.