I find #microblogging to be a frustrating misnomer.

the form matters because of the boost. the virality that it makes possible. more writing being read thanks to RSS was great but it wasn't social. and the term means people think less about what else could be shared. we end up thinking of podcasts or video requiring a different server/app, instead of building around the boost/reply structure. in the same way that we got podcasts by adding audio files to the feed item.

it's a social news feed.