A whole lot of what you said resonates with my experience. The whole workplace being the place where you find genuinely honest "friends" seems to be a paradox.

A whole lot of what you said resonates with my experience. The whole workplace being the place where you find genuinely honest "friends" seems to be a paradox. But its really true. Socializing on the other hand is a hit and miss thing. Its like random sampling. You may get a bunch of honest friends but a whole lot of the people at gatherings are busy doing their own piece in the grander social dance. On a sidenote, social networks as they exist are flawed. But there are certain micro-interactions out of the realm of a regular social network that sometimes have more meaning. Take for example your comment. Striking the same chord at the least makes me feel its not just me :) I have been lucky enough to have interacted virtually with a bunch of people online (irc,quora, HN) which has turned into fruitful friendships. There is no pressure of constant communication but whenever we interact, it starts from the point where we left last time. Its almost like a breath of fresh air. So i wouldn't outrightly saw virtual interactions are futile. BTW that SMS bit is so true. you hit a nerve there :)