Whether you have a hundred online friends or a dozen, it’s relatively easy to keep in touch with them and see what they’re up to. For me, as a writer, typing up a blog post on my word press site is a good way to send a message to many friends at once. A post to your Facebook wall will accomplish the same thing. You can also encourage visitors to your site to leave comments on your blog posts.
If you value your friends, respond to their comments. You never know what great new people you might meet!