The description you just gave sums it up well. Since day 1 I could see that the base community was welcoming and supportive unlike many similar places. Its funny i've noticed with the tipping / upvoting, the human race networks worldwide a lot better a lot faster.
I'm approaching as a consumer / investor so seeing smaller projects getting heard and reaching key demo's through a site like this makes me feel as if these platforms may indeed surpass the norm.