About five years ago online dating was looked down upon but since then i have been seeing lot of people getting married to people they found online. Same way finding interesting friends is best done 1-1, as its rhe depth not the breadth of the relationship that matters. Its the same reason i use [and started] http://letslunch.com and have met over a dozen great people over lunch, Because frankly i don't have time to goto meetups which happens on a specific day and on specific time, wheres in conferences/networking events people are always ought to meet as many people as possible and even while chatting without you, they are peeking over your shoulder to see who they are going to talk next.