I had a buddy in business school who insisted on meeting every one of our classmates for a coffee chat (~400).

By the time he got to me, it was the middle of our second (and last year). I was skeptical since I thought it was kind of weird, plus most friend groups had formed by that point.

Turned out to be one of the most intriguing conversations I ever had. We became very close friends after that.

No short cut to friendship. Sometimes you just gotta get face to face and see how things go.