Networking is a sport. Sometimes a full contact sport. You have to know people, know of a few good topics to talk about that don't polarize those around you the point of awkwardness and you've got to know when to move on to the next candidate.
Writers/journalists/scribes (whatever name you chose) either excel at networking or suck, to put it bluntly. If you're a journalist, you've spent countless hours in awkward interviews asking people tough questions or very personal questions. Sometimes the frivolity of polite conversation is too much. If you're like me, you've also studied body language and know when someone isn't paying attention and perhaps making a mental grocery list. (That means it's time to move on or head to the bar in the networking world.)
If you're a writer, like a "writer" with a capital W -- your brain is probably too busy to be trifled with. That also makes you seem very antisocial, aloof and maybe mysterious. You know ladies, the "brooder" type of guys you dated in your early 20s..or at least I did.
There is a place for networking. But I prefer to call it what it is. It's relationship building. It's meeting people, getting their names or business cards with the understanding that at some point in life, you will be calling on them for a favor...and it won't seem so outlandish because "Hey didn't we meet at the (INSERT ORGANIZATION HERE) mixer last month." It's important, necessary and all part of the grown up world.
But it only works when everybody at the event has the same understanding and the same purpose in mind. Mixers are not for catching up with old college friends or long lost colleagues. That's what drinks after the event are for, otherwise being deep in conversation means there are bunch of people standing around waiting to meet you (because you are after all fabulous) that have to listen to every detail of your child's latest developmental milestone.
If everybody knows the rules, nobody gets left out.
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