By your same reasoning 'berto I suppose corporate and government conferences held online which can offer input from all across the globe would similarly be viewed as less than real. Or perhaps the twitter and facebook forums that lead to social upheaval to the point those in power have shut down the 'net as a means of heavy handedly controlling citizen participation are equally inconsequential, right?

I'll have to take exception to that whole line of reasoning since the dialogue being held is far more important than whatever medium is used to allow the dialogue to take place. Secondly as has been evidenced in recent times, without the internet as an alternative medium for discourse some events themselves would have been minimized if not totally shut down completely, thereby again reinforcing the overall importance as well as the validity of these avenues for communication