Adam Joinson discusses the process of community building via technology in his book Understanding the Psychology of Internet Behaviour (p11, ISBN 0333984684), noting that there is nothing new under the sun:
The cost and lack of privacy tended to inhibit personal communication between members of the general public using the telegraph. However, for the telegraph operators the network provided an ‘online community encompassing thousands of people, very few of whom met face-to-face’ (Standage, 1999, p122-3). The sense of community among telegraph operators was heightended by their own norms and customs, vocabulary, the use of short (usually two or three letters) signatures or ‘sigs’ and the sense of ownership of a particular line. According to Standage, experienced operators could even recognise their on-line friends simply from their style of morse code.
pdf of Joinson’s chapter on the history of tech-mediated communities.
Link to Adam Joinson’s homepage.
Link to Tom Standage’s homepage.
Mind Hacks 
The Victorian Internet, by Tom Standage, discusses this in many other similarities in the cultural impacts of the telegraph and the internet.
(oops, had I not been posting first thing in the morning, I’d’ve noticed a) I typoed my URL — corrected here) and b) the excerpt cites the book I reference, though not by name. I will add that it’s a very enjoyable read.