For a different approach...
People are a game.
The first rule of the game is learn to "rub blue mud in your bellybutton".
The second rule of the game is "don't do anything you want to not do".
The third rule of the game is "collect all 6.5 billion".
The forth rule of the game is "it is about high score, not broad score".
Ok, let's back up.
Rule #1: Blue mud.
Most of human social interaction isn't extremely profound. It is people sharing simple rituals, demonstrating that they both know the social rules, and spending time with each other. The goal of this interaction is "getting to know other people" -- not as a list of facts, but at the gut-level understanding you can get from spending time with people.
"Blue mud in the belly button" refers to any arbitrary act of expected social behaviour. You do it because by doing it you demonstrate
you are part of that social group, or at least you understand the rules.
Understanding the rules is
important -- because people are dangerous and unpredictable. People who are following the rules are much safer. This demonstration of rule following is important, not something trivial to be ignored.
Rule #2: Don't do anything you want to not do.
Lot's of nots there, eh? You could be tempted to remove them -- then you end up with "do what you want to do". But that isn't what this rule is saying.
If there is something you actively do not want to do -- hurt other people, cheat, steal, eat peanut butter --
don't do it. Even if it is part of the blue mud of your social group -- don't replace your own identity and morals with that of the group.
At the same time, if it is just something that isn't what you want to do -- go ahead, it is a way to spend time and bond. Playing pool? You may
not want to play pool, but do you want to
not play pool? They are very different things.
Rule #3: Collect all 6.5 billion.
Be friendly with everyone. There really isn't much benefit in being surley -- keep your options open. Have a broad pool of aquantances you interact positively with, and when interacting with strangers be polite, friendly, and open.
If you have a broad pool of friends, then misplacing some (or having to drop some because they become gits) is not all that painful.
Rule #4: High score, not broad score
Do attempt to ladder your friendship with some people upwards. The traditional way to ladder friendships upwards is known as "reciprocal revelation" -- one of you signals a wish to bump the friendship upwards with a bit of "intimacy", and the other responds. Keep your eyes open for these openings, and occasionally offer openings to other people.
If your offer of laddering up the friendship is ignored, then don't repeat yourself immediately -- wait a period of time, try offering other people openings, and (if you want to repeat it) only after a reasonably long period of time repeat the offer. Your goal here is to form "good friends" with someone.
Keep in mind that refusal of "openings" given by other people will tend to generate the same response -- if you refuse friendship laddering up from someone repeatedly, they will stop trying to ladder up the friendship.
Rule #5: There are no rules
The above "rules" are just reminders of what kind of actions you need to engage in to form a social group. The point of the rules is practice -- your goal isn't to cold-bloodedly follow some automatic script, but rather to practice the kinds of behaviours that make things come naturally.
If rules could be made for social interaction, we'd have robots passing the Turing Test. But by having rules and things to keep in mind, you give your brain a framework to work in, and give yourself a chance to practice your ability in making new friends, strengthening friendships, keeping your own identity strong, and in general getting rid of the entire "I'm boooored" problem.
