Familiarity is not friendship.

Look at all the different forms of entertainment in which we partake.
Radio and TV talk shows are pretty high on the list. I like Podcasts myself. They're like radio shows for your Ipod and there are thousands of them covering every topic imaginable. I want to talk about the associations we make with these familiar voices.
I'll start with the most popular voice in America, Oprah. Ardent Oprah fans tune in every day to hear her talk about whatever she has to say. A lot of these people feel like they are her friends. They are so tuned in that a certain disconnect from reality occurs. They feel they know her so well that (sometimes) they begin to back-rationalize that she knows them too.
I've seen and heard it happen with local radio personalities too. I've even kinda' had it happen myself with them. I would call in to the morning show of a station in Vacaville with some regularity. They knew who I was by my voice. I even met them when they went out on location. Nice folks. Very friendly. I even got the feeling that one of them would have been willing to date me, were our situations such that it would have been permissible (we were both involved with other people at the time). There, you see? A fine line between familiarity and friendship.
With online message boards you have access to directly communicate with people of greater and greater notoriety. Twitter completely levels the playing field between us (the common folk), and big-time celebrities like Levar Burton, Felicia Day, Gary Fisher and Lance Armstrong. Gary Fisher and Lance Armstrong both regularly post that they are taking rides and if you want to come along, just show up. Gary is a bunch of fun, but if you can't cruise at 25+ MPH, just forget about Lance. Message boards and Twitter crack a door that sometimes can be opened to become friends with these people we wish were our friends. In both the case of Gary Fisher and Lance Armstrong, I have friends who have become their friends through social media. One day, I hope to join their ranks.
Let's look at podcasts. A big name is podcasting is Leo LaPorte. He runs the TWIT network. With over 20 shows he's well known in social media. We follow each other on Twitter, Buzz & Foursquare and we've had some personal interaction via electronic communication of various types (Twitter @msgs, IMs & email). I hear his voice so much on his podcasts and he's so personable that I feel I know him. I would like to be friends with him or anybody like him, but if I ever meet him in person I better remember that to him, I am one of thousands of people who all look the same. He's only the most notable such person. There are many others with whom I've had personal interaction. I have to remember that as public figures, it's their job to be friendly and it would take some special interaction to bridge the gap into friends.
My friend who knows Gary Fisher has been on several rides with him. My friend who knows Lance Armstrong has done some spectacular work for the Livestrong Foundation (Lance's cancer fighting effort). They bridged the gap.
Some people "think" they've bridged the gap, when they haven't. This is probably far more common than any of us realize. Ever watch "Desperate Housewives?" Eva Longoria is one of the lead actors playing Gabrielle Solis. A hot, slutty, ex-model turned mom. You can follow her on Twitter @EvaLongoria. She's there and it's really her. She's on Facebook too. http://www.facebook.com/EvaLongoria Her Facebook page has links to all the public stuff she's into and you can get a look into her life in some detail...and people do. Some think they "know" her after a while with all this exposure. Some even think they've fallen in love with her. Some completely jump the shark and think they've fallen in love with Gabrielle Solis, her fictitious character! Falling in love with a coworker is another form of this same situation.
We don't realize how common this is. I think we all experience it to some degree. Let's hope we have the vision to see that which is real friendship and that which is only familiarity.