Let’s say you’ve got a friend (several, probably) that you’ve corresponded with online for years. You know how it is, a bunch of e-mails, maybe a group blog, some instant messaging, “digg this for me please”, hanging out in the same discussion groups and forums, those kind of things. You think you know him, he’s a friend.

However, you have never actually met this person. Maybe you’ve had a voice or video chat, but that’s it. Your primary way of communication is IM and e-mail. Read more