Lee - I love this article. I think everybody should read it just to get the idea that this whole 'networking' thing can get pretty lame at times.

I like the way you explain it - but basically, just, "go make friends" is the advice, right? In case you're interested in the writings of someone with a similar point of view, I wrote a similar post, slightly rantier, a year or so ago: http://danielhough.co.uk/blog/human-business-card-jar/