Making Progress, but I have questions

So I'm making progress. I'm well into $ad levels, have 5 mines going in the area I started in, have reached the mainland and started into the first blue mine. I think I had a message flash on the screen that I can access the continent, but have no idea where that is, and can't find it on the map.

I have 32 friends on my account, but it seems like I can't add more than that. Today I went back to the friends thread, and clicked on about ten more links, but still 32 friends. I don't *think* that's a hard cap, because someone said the more friends you have in an advanced area, the more you'll get some kind of extra or something. So I don't know what's going on here.

Have followed the advice from the Anima guide and my last thread, and started on research, and have got the first two mines unlocked, but not leveled.

I don't seem to have events available yet. Nothing listed as Elemental seems to be available. I have barely reached the point where I think there is one more land mass where I am just about to the place that I can open a mine there.

What's next?