I believe that he's using term social to describe individuals outside your work (e.g. no lunches with personal friends). As you state networking is very important when you first start a job and the rest of the tips are geared to network effectively (find the organisational chart so you know who are the right people to meet).

I found that one odd as well. Maybe the author felt that it would set a specific tone for that person's relationship with the rest of the team?