I think the problem is not just the algorithm but the presentation as well. Take the dominant 'news feed' view of your network:

* Posts are each given a fixed area of the feed. They are treated much like a steam of banner adverts.

* Individuals are all crammed in the same feed, as if they are competitors for your attention.

* Individuals who post more frequently will dominate the feed. If you have someone who only posts three times a week - but it is all gold - you'll never see those posts.

Compare this to the days before RSS when you had a list of bookmarks and you checked up on websites individually. It certainly lacked the convenience of the news feed - but the reading experience was better in my opinion.