Kevin Winter/Getty Images
"One thing we never predicted was that as the show was launching there was also the advent of social media," creator Carlton Cuse told Esquire.
While the show was popular for its mysteries (the smoke monster, that four-toed statue), creators Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse told Esquire the introduction of social media really helped the show take off.
As Cuse told the magazine:
"One thing we never predicted was that as the show was launching there was also the advent of social media. We were making a show that was intentionally ambiguous and was a mystery. All of a sudden there was this vehicle by which people could communicate with each other over the Internet. The show and social media just happened to come along at the same time, and it was the perfect thing for people to talk about over social media. We benefitted from this natural confluence of events. It was just sort of alchemy."
Social media also became a place where fans could discuss popular theories about what the island - and pretty much the entire show - meant.
Fan sites like "Lostpedia" allowed viewers to dig deeper into the show to not just discuss theories, but come up with some of their own.
Lindelof said his favorite crazy online theory ended up involving Vincent, a dog seen throughout the series.
"There was a theory that it was all taking place in the dog's head," Lindelof said.
Some other online theories ranged from the whole show being set in purgatory to the island actually being a spaceship. Cuse joked the latter theory may be fun to revisit.
"We should just go back to like episode 30 and re-break from there and just make it a spaceship," Cuse said. "That would be the unexpected reboot of 'Lost.'"