The golden nugget

Yesterday in an email to a friend I said this:

"i love blogging!
gives you a weird sense of satisfaction"

As a general insight into the potential of brand participation, I think this is a nice concise summary. It's the "weird sense of satisfaction" that I'd say was the golden nugget of brand participation. The sensation and feeling you get from participating in something is intangible, however the things it leads to is definitely:
1) a closer relationship
2) a sense of self-worth
3) a sense of well-being (happiness even!)
4) a sense of being part of something
5) a sense of empowerment
. . .

The key thing as Raul mentioned a few posts back, is understanding how different brands can get the golden nugget working for them in different ways.
And the key question is: have you ever had that weird sensation?