I'm going to give a fun alternative example. I used to run some popular publishing websites around entertainment: gaming, movies, tech...etc. I talked to our

I'm going to give a fun alternative example. I used to run some popular publishing websites around entertainment: gaming, movies, tech...etc. I talked to our first users entirely through our message boards, which had PM systems built in. The regulars were there almost every day and I got to know them fairly well. We'd talk daily and I used the message board to show off new designs I was working on. Eventually they started their own fan podcast (this was 2008 or so mind you) and I'd show up as a guest to support their love of the websites. They'd be surprised I'd show up. Me? I was surprised they went to so much trouble to support my site. Eventually we just hired a bunch of these early users at interns. One we hired permanently, and others we helped get jobs within the gaming industry. I don't see them that often in person anymore (I've since moved) but I'm happy to see them with their own thriving careers and consider a couple of them friends. I sometimes wonder if the move away from message boards and towards larger communities like Reddit and Twitter would have allowed for this kind of clubhouse atmosphere. It's one of the bits of the old Internet I occasionally miss.