it is about relationship building, which leads to community growth and the benefits of networking effects.
I agree with this. If you build a relationship, you tend to have the people at heart more. For instance, there are some people here that I can't do a day without checking on them. I have built relationships and taken it to another level outside hive. And that's fulfilling for me.
There is also the potential for it to overlap with real life, getting to meetup with the people here, after getting to know them online.