Online Friends VS Offline Friends

In 2005 while pregnant with Chase I joined a social networking site called What to Expect When You're Expecting. I didn't participate much in the group that I was a part of (September 05') and eventually stopped going all together. WTE is a place for expectant parents, and parents trying to conceive to gather and share stories, information, and experiences with each other. When I got pregnant again in 2008 I updated my information to the new group, February 2009. This time I decided to jump in and participate.  I instantly felt this sense of belonging to this group. There was something about the other woman that were there going through the same up and down hormonal roller coaster that pulled me in. Over the course of our pregnancies we shared our lives with each other. We all got excited to hear the babies genders, we cheered each other on when our bodies started getting ready to labor, and we provided each other a shoulder to cry on when things were hard.
It's been 2 years and 9 months since most of us "met" online and to this day almost all of us are still friends. We keep up with one other via numerous social networking sites; Cafemom, Facebook. Some of us have met in person over the years and a lot of us keep up with one another via text and phone calls. 

When asked recently if I consider these ladies to be "real" friends, I didn't hesitate to answer YES! These girls probably know more about me than some of my offline friends and over the years they have been a real source of comfort and encouragement. Isn't that what being a friend is all about?
I do think it's best to maintain healthy balance of real life and online friends but I don't for a second believe that one is more important than the other. I think what makes a relationship a true friendship isn't where you met but what you've shared and learned along the way.