At Microsoft there were a lot of discussion lists for niche passions like paintballing (we drove out to the boonies and just pulled into the woods where some people had built bunkers). It was also my first job out of college, so my cohorts were all looking for friendships.

At Facebook I was part of a startup acquisition. Those members were battle buddies. Facebook also had a cultural value that you should bring your authentic self to work, which I think led to people bonding better. That or it’s because Facebook threw lots of parties with inappropriate amounts of alcohol

Did you work at FB before Google? I wonder if age and family is a confounding factor here. I've lost touch with several friends I made when I was younger as they've prioritized parenting above friendship. I have no kids so I am basically persona non grata (except for the occasional IM). That's a fine choice for them, of course, but it definitely contributed to a reduction in events held outside of work hours.

Bring Your Whole Self To Work is literally a slogan in Google's internal training.

I feel like it should really be:

“Bring The Best 90% Of Your Self To Work”

Honestly, we all have a part of ourselves we should leave at home.