grubwithus is one of the most fun "social" things I've done in the past year. The YC applicant dinners are particularly fun (it's 1-4 alumni and any applicants who care to go). The other really fun one was a VC from August Capital (who I actually ran into the next day at another restaurant) -- it was a great way to pick his brain on things outside a formal pitching environment.<p>I didn't really enjoy the non-themed dinners as much, though, but maybe that was particular to Silicon Valley. They turned into a weird almost dating type thing, with a really skewed M/F ratio.<p>So maybe the key is to have some common Internet-communicated interest, then meet up in real life. It can't be all online (or it is sterile and boring), but it can't be totally random, either (I avoid talking to people in elevators, my neighbors, etc.)