With the rapidity of times, you might be surprised at how much most of your friends have changed in a short span of time. Before you know it, you may stop short of realizing that you haven’t even spoken to most of your friends for years. This is a problem that everyone has had for since time immemorial, and it is also a problem that can easily be resolved if you are dedicated enough.

Use social networking services, such as MySpace, Facebook, etc.

In today’s technology, everyone’s a member of at least one social networking site. In here, you will be regularly updated about the goings-on in your friends’ life.

Send them an e-mail.

Even chain mails are a thoughtful manifestation that you have taken that extra mile and sent them a sweet thought of nothingness. You are bound to make a friend in a distant location smile by sending them an email.

Send them an SMS.

Almost everyone has a cell phone with an SMS capability. Utilize this cheap and convenient feature to send your friend a thoughtful quote or a simple ‘hi.’ You don’t have to spend much to stay in contact with a friend.

Greet them on their birthdays.

Birthdays are everybody’s special day. If you are really a reliable and thoughtful friend, make sure that you greet them on their birthday. This only comes once in a year and having your friend know that you remember his or her birthday will make a friendship last longer.

Give them a good e-card.

There are a lot of websites offering free and heartwarming e-cards. Make sure that you personalize these e-cards and send them to your friends on special dates, such as Christmas, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, etc.

IM them.

All the better if you have an Instant Messenger. This will tell you if your friend is online and up for a nice chat.

Urge them to keep a weblog.

Weblogs tell about the recent experiences of a person firsthand. What’s good about weblogs is that you get to have a peek at your friend’s heart and know what’s the latest about him or her. Weblogs will update you not only about what’s happening to your friends but also the feelings involved with it.

Give them surprise calls.

Surprise them by calling them one day and dropping by for a short chat. This will warm their probably cold day ahead.

Write them a letter.

A heartwarming gesture would be to write them a letter and send them through snail mail or give them in bulk once you see each other again.

Arrange meeting dates.

Schedule your free time together and arrange a date, so that you can meet face to face with your friend and do some catching up.