I don't know how old you are, but my bet is: its an age thing.
Actually I miss the web from 1999-2004 for the exact same reasons you do, and 2008 was already way downhill for me. But when I think about it a bit more carefully... How old was I at the time? 14-19... An age where almost everything is exciting and new: music, parties, friends, philosophy, technology you name it. I can easily apply this sentiment to most categories of interest during this time period.
I wonder if in 15 years from now, the people around 30 will rumble about how wonderful it was back then, when it was all the rage to be on Instagram etc. and how easy it was to connect to people, and how quickly you could organize events via social media.