Geocities really wasn't "social media", though. The closest thing at the time would have been PHPBB forums or the like, and customization with those tended to be limited.
I think there just isn't much of a desire among most people to be "creative" with their layouts. Most people use social media like an appliance, they care about the networking and communication and are satisfied as long as that works.
It certainly isn't social media as we describe it now.
It is though a good example of "fun and weird" and a little sad it was left out as social media grew. I get why, but still feels like that character missing is a loss of some kind.
I think there just isn't much of a desire among most people to be "creative" with their layouts. Most people use social media like an appliance, they care about the networking and communication and are satisfied as long as that works.