This year I'm planning on actively expanding my network by taking advantage of the vibrant nightlife scene here in Vegas. I'm also going to check out any cool meetups I can find, even if they're not 100% in my areas of interest. I think it's important to put oneself out there. If someone really feels valuable as the person they have become/are becoming it's a sort of gift they can give to their community, whether locally or online or what have you.
AirBnB pretends to be a social matching service with money just for covering expenses.
What? How? Airbnb is just a hotel alternative, most of the time I get keys from some kind of locker and don't even see my host
The companies that run the "sharing economy" surely want you to believe that, but I don't know anyone who thinks about AirBnB that way. Do you have any links that show them projecting that image?
As another example, clubs and classes are a great place to make friends because you already have a common interest. You can become friends with the instructor/leader no matter what the monetary arrangements are. Whether there are dues or class fees, if the instructor gets paid a token or reasonable amount. Of course, the more of a profession it is for the instructor, the more likely they are to be spread thin across classes and students. But again, that's not the money per se.