In reply to David Barratt.

It could be potentially (with a few changes) as one of many others including any other web host or managed hosting company. Ideally, anyone who has a domain name and a web presence would make the open web more like a public utility. One size fits all shouldn't be part of the equation. People should have choice. If you're not happy with what Facebook, Twitter, or even WordPress.com is doing or how easily (or not) it works you should be able to take your data and your domain and use any another service, CMS, or online platform.

Currently my favorite contender for the less technically adept would be micro.blog which supports a huge range of open standards and protocols and actively encourages people to own their domain and own their content.

I'll note for your specific benefit that Drupal has made some dramatic strides in these areas with @swentel's phenomenal dedication and work as well as some of what @Dries has written about over the past year.