Hi all. I've been reading the forum since sometime last year, and have even made a few posts here and there. I would consider myself to have an intermediate level of all-around knowledge and experience, and I'm currently mostly involved in affiliate marketing SEO with EMDs. I'm also pretty well versed in all aspects of Wordpress integration, have dabbled in social media, and have done some Adwords buying in the past.

What I'm curious about is the problem of making friends who are also in IM. I know a handful of people who are in related fields, but I don't really know anyone who does something very similar to what I'm doing. So I definitely feel like I would be better off if I had some IM buddies to exchange ideas, ask/give occasional feedback, and just be less isolated overall.

So what does everyone here think -- is having IM buddies an essential part of being successful? If so, what are the best way of making acquaintances in IM?