Ask HN: How to do webinars with networking? (or, how to network in rural areas)

I'm starting to understand the importance of networking. I live in a rural area, and while I hope to get to some meetups in nearby cities, it'd be useful to do some online.

I'd consider hosting things, too, but how do I do it in a way that is useful? Webinars are a lot like a call-in radio show. There's not a lot of back and forth and no networking possibilities. I'm not sure that something using a multi-person audio chat would be better.

Any suggestions?