@marina scuttlebutt is like the fusion of two things in my mind :

• a diary that only I can write notes in
• a system for gossip which means that others can see open messages in my diary

Fundamentally, no-one can stop me writing in my diary. This is the freedom of speech part... I can say what ever I want into that diary.
The gossiping, which is set up by people following people is the freedom of listening part. You can write whatever you want, I don't have to listen, and in fact I can say I never want to listen (by blocking you).

This is different to facebook / youtube / twitter. The diary is actually a corporate platform and the pages are owned by that company. So I can try saying whatever I want, but some things will get me kicked off the platform (this is well and good, any host needs to take some responsibility for those they're hosting). So if I got my twitter handle @whimful blocked on twitter, I lose my 'identity' on that platform. On some platforms this means I will lose my record of events, photos, and will find it harder to be invited to parties.

Turns of phrase might not be what we'd want to use externally, but does that clarify? If not, what was it that didn't make sense ?