I absolutely suck at making friends. I'm really bad at pretending and hate most people. So I guess we are in the same boat. I'm still learning how to fake interest in other people and everything. I'm reading the book 'How to make friends and influence people', which is packed with obvious things that I need to hear again and again. Another thing that really hurts meeting new people is the fact that I have a girlfriend. So - if you go somewhere, always go alone.
It's really difficult to make friends usually, because I feel most guys are just interested in girls. And most girls think that you hit on them and don't respond. Haha. Most of my friends are female, because making male friends seems to be almost impossible for me.
Saw a presentation once by a designer who said 'give your business card to 3 people per day'. And he really follows that.
You should probably go to meetups on meetups.com or a similar site. There are many groups you can join - kind of like a university club. There are even three different Bitcoin meetup.com groups in my city. Really is something for every taste. If you are not from a major city I guess it's pretty hard. Just go to events that interest you and introduce yourself.
That book recommends the exact opposite of what you are trying to do. I think one of the chapters talk about being GENUINELY interested in someone... don't try to fake interest or conversation, it will eventually show and no one likes people who do that. If I'm not interested in finding out something about someone I won't ask for the sake of small talk. I ask things when I am genuinely curious, this makes me a better listener and more engaged in the conversation. I do this with girls too, I don't care what they are thinking about me, I ask them things that I genuinely want to know... when people worry about what to say next or try to plan a conversation to avoid moments of silence, that's where they go wrong. You gotta talk about what YOU want to talk about. When you want someone to like you talk about things that they enjoy talking about as well.
Sorry I just had to say something since you mentioned that book and you are trying to do the opposite of what the book suggests.
OP-- maintain a good relationship with a close group of 3-4 people form college, that's really all you need. A few close friends are a lot better than many acquaintances. I agree, it's much harder to make new friends after college, but it's still not that hard if you try. Go out with your current friends on the weekends and have some fun. Don't worry too much about making a new friend every time, just put yourself out there and have fun, try to be social and approach people and you might find someone who interests you. Go on meetups and networking events that you are interested in. If you talk to someone interesting, suggest another event or plan another time to hang out.
Gym is not really a good place to meet people imo. I've been going for 2 years and I see lots of familiar faces who consistently go as well. Some of them seem cool but I have no interest in approaching them, because I'm focused on doing my routine and I would find it annoying to engage in a conversation too. There are some super fine girls in the gym though, I wish I did something about that but I am too chicken...
PS- do you live in Atlanta or Dallas by any chance? If you do maybe we can be friends, I don't know any fellow bitcoiners in real life