Re: Missing admin bar menu items
The Wire feature was deprecated with BuddyPress version 1.2. If you’d like to use the Wire, try installing the BuddyPress Backward Compatibility plugin and activating the wire feature: https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/buddypress-backwards-compatibility/
The functionality of the wire – namely, the ability to leave short messages for other users – has mainly been replaced by the @-mention feature.
If you want users to have their own individual blogs, you’ll have to activate WP Network mode. If you want them to be able to post on your main BuddyPress blog, they’ll have to be at least Contributors. If you just want them to be able to post messages for others to see, then perhaps the status update feature will be enough.