Social Media help friends and family connect more

I'm increasingly convinced that a major benefit of Social Media is in reinforcing connections with people we already know but may not see or speak to as often as we would like.

Thanks to Twitter I have regular connections with my brother-in-law Mike in Sheffield - we never used to interact except when he came to visit.  Also thanks to Twitter and Flickr, I keep up to date with friends in my home town between our monthly photo group meets and occasional chance encounters.