I think weblogs are key to ACS success. Yes, it's web application meets vanity site, and it can be very self indulgent, but it is one of the few examples of convergence. Developers meet/become journalists: Winer and Spolsky. Journalists become bloggers: Gillmor. Journalists surf the blogs: Maureen Dowd. Economists/Journalists blog too: Paul Krugman.
Just a note, playing with ACS 3.2.5 one can hack together a reasonable web log of the Dan Gillmor variety (http://web.siliconvalley.com/content/sv/opinion/dgillmor/weblog/) where only one person posts entirely new messages, and other folks can respond. The key is to a) create an ed-com type bboard, b) in the wierd stuff parameter section deny any random user the ability to initiate new threads, and then c) hack hack hack the UI. But it should be easier, and the suggestions are right on, OUT OF THE BOX, the ACS should do self-configure itself to become interesting in the eye of the implementor.
