I completely grok this discussion. Let me add a different perspective. I work in a remote office with a very small number of keep-to-themselves colleagues. It'

I completely grok this discussion. Let me add a different perspective. I work in a remote office with a very small number of keep-to-themselves colleagues. It's very common to arrive, spend 9 hours working, and leave for home w/o any dialogue other than a polite "how's it going?". In other words the place is dead. The sales force is scattered around the world & doesn't need a lot of hand-holding. Our marketplace is a relative backwater, so there's not a lot "churn" to keep things interesting. (I'm a product guy. Interaction is like breathing.) The bottom line is that I find myself with a lot spare time to explore & learn. My first choices are HN & Feedly, but I do enjoy finding colleagues from prior jobs - and the occasional high school / college friend - on LI. It definitely serves a remote-networking purpose for me.