I really, really want to visit other peoples' journals and for them to visit mine.

It's a pretty welcoming environment over here (and as I said, I'm a shy person ...). Friending memes are great, and comms are obviously a good way of getting to know people, but you can also try surfing the Latest Things or using the Interests search to find people who are into the same things as you.

I've often commented in someone's journal and added "Here via the network page, hope that's okay" or suchlike, and never had anyone bat an eyelid.

By the way, if you're still settling in, getting_started is a great comm specifically designed for Dreamwidth n00b "How do I make it do this/not do that?" type questions. No question is too clueless and people are always happy to help out.