[aleksandrh]

Good read, but I don't believe it's possible to make friends online in the true sense of that term. I've been doing things online for a majority of my life. Forums, gaming, chatting with strangers. I've made many "friends" this way, but they're not people I know. We've lost touch over the years, and I wouldn't ever turn to them for help because we don't know each other that well anyway.

Twitter is the same. The best you can have is acquaintances, peers/colleagues, or followers.