Mutuals: Send me 'Hey' and I'll tell you what association I use when talking about you in person
Don't let anyone ever tell you that your friendships with people you meet online aren't genuine. I have friends I met in 2004, when I joined LJ, that I still talk to. I was in the wedding party of one of those friends. My best friend is someone I met on Tumblr. I moved across the world and married someone else that I met through Tumblr. I've met numerous internet friends in real life and the weird part isn't that we suddenly have nothing in common, it's mostly "IS THAT WHAT YOUR VOICE SOUNDS LIKE?" The internet connects us to people we may have never met otherwise. It's a valid form of socialization. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise.
Did you ever just feel so lucky for knowing someone you met online? Like.. I was one click away from not following you. I was one second away from never even knowing of your existence. I would never have been this happy.