Join a ton of channels. Lurk for a bit, add things into the conversation. After a month or so everyone will be comfortable with you and you just keep going. Mor

Join a ton of channels. Lurk for a bit, add things into the conversation. After a month or so everyone will be comfortable with you and you just keep going. More general topic channels like #startups on freenode are a bit easier to be social in. Learn the local rules and the local users. It's like any community really.