But that's not what social networks have morphed into today. How many accounts on Twitter do you follow that are actually people you know? What about Twitter and Facebook?
Even as a casual user, a large number of the accounts I follow are pages, brands, and anonymous accounts (especially on Twitter).
I don't know most of the people I follow on Twitter in real life but I would argue that I do know them personally because I follow a pretty small group and see most of what they post. So I have gotten to know people on Twitter personally over time.
It's interesting because I can't say the same for HN. I only recognize a few dozen usernames and only really feel like I know the personalities of a couple of those people. This is despite having been on HN for far longer (in both calendar time and hours spent).
