Phatic communion

I recently stumbled up on and scoffed out loud at some new and fancy sounding concepts - phatic communion, ambient intimacy -  but have now relented and adopted them as more productive for understanding Twitter, Facebook and web2.0  than my own perspective (contemptuous dismissal).  This short and clear post at Micronarratives  highlights the interesting and thought-provoking (for me) distinction between phatic and instrumental communication.