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In the undergrad university scene that is being discussed I'm having a hard time visualising what "direct networking" would look like. However, I can confident

In the undergrad university scene that is being discussed I'm having a hard time visualising what "direct networking" would look like. However, I can confidently say there's a big difference in the bond formed between two people chugging beer bongs together vs asking someone in a lecture if they'd like to have lunch. I also think the party scene would be difficult to replicate in terms of the sheer size of your potential network (I make no assertation about the objective quality of that network, but the article suggests it's not what be predisposed to think). Anecdotally, I've got lifelong friends from both camps; but the people I lean on now in my professional development are the people I partied (hard) with at university.

colechristensen 11y ago
I can confirm, I'd place much more value (including monitary- and career- value) on the connections made with people sharing the experience of being an irresponsible young person than I would the connections made during study/projects/"networking" etc. This isn't to say that A) these groups didn't overlap significantly or B) I wish I'd gotten blackout drunk more often; but the social aspect of being forced into close quarters living your life for a few years with peers in your age group is as least of equal value to the "education" part. I've tried to say it in many different ways, but I'll try again: being "graded" constantly and basing huge path-driving decisions on those grades are a huge detriment to people and to society. I and many others would have had a much better, more rewarding, and more valuable experience if the point of Univerity wasn't gathering a dozen metrics a week for several years in a row in order to get a piece of paper.
- nostrademons 11y ago
  I think the most important part of networking is to do it authentically. If you are naturally a partier, go to parties. If you are naturally studious, study with other people. I made a lot more useful connections with the folks I worked on projects with (or even moreso, folks I met on the Internet) than those I partied with, but that's because I always felt very out-of-place at the blackout-drunk party scene.
  - sarciszewski 11y ago
    I tend to grow my network through researching security vulnerabilities in open source projects, even though that's not my goal. :\ (I'm agreeing with your post.)
Outdoorsman 11y ago
Bases on years of experience I would estimate that the "good" jobs, often regardless of the field, are landed as follows: Networking (60% of my "gigs":) Nepotism (10%, maybe more, much less in my case) Proven Ability to Deliver (20%) Good Luck (10%)
Symbiote 11y ago
I guess drinking laws mean this can't happen in the USA, but plenty of parties I went to would start with a meal and a couple of drinks in a restaurant before moving on to a bar then a nightclub. That's not much different to what happens at conferences I've attended, except it ends before the nightclub, usually.
kelnos 11y ago
Conversely, I didn't party much at all in college, and I don't really have a professional network from that period of time. I developed all of that later, post-college, when I started partying (I'm a late bloomer, I guess). I hate "networking" events, and have never managed to get much out of them when I've forced myself to go, but love meeting people organically through regular social outings. Some of those people turn into friends, some turn into professional contacts, and some turn into both.

colechristensen 11y ago

I can confirm, I'd place much more value (including monitary- and career- value) on the connections made with people sharing the experience of being an irresponsible young person than I would the connections made during study/projects/"networking" etc. This isn't to say that A) these groups didn't overlap significantly or B) I wish I'd gotten blackout drunk more often; but the social aspect of being forced into close quarters living your life for a few years with peers in your age group is as least of equal value to the "education" part. I've tried to say it in many different ways, but I'll try again: being "graded" constantly and basing huge path-driving decisions on those grades are a huge detriment to people and to society. I and many others would have had a much better, more rewarding, and more valuable experience if the point of Univerity wasn't gathering a dozen metrics a week for several years in a row in order to get a piece of paper.

nostrademons 11y ago
I think the most important part of networking is to do it authentically. If you are naturally a partier, go to parties. If you are naturally studious, study with other people. I made a lot more useful connections with the folks I worked on projects with (or even moreso, folks I met on the Internet) than those I partied with, but that's because I always felt very out-of-place at the blackout-drunk party scene.
- sarciszewski 11y ago
  I tend to grow my network through researching security vulnerabilities in open source projects, even though that's not my goal. :\ (I'm agreeing with your post.)

Outdoorsman 11y ago

Bases on years of experience I would estimate that the "good" jobs, often regardless of the field, are landed as follows: Networking (60% of my "gigs":) Nepotism (10%, maybe more, much less in my case) Proven Ability to Deliver (20%) Good Luck (10%)

Symbiote 11y ago

I guess drinking laws mean this can't happen in the USA, but plenty of parties I went to would start with a meal and a couple of drinks in a restaurant before moving on to a bar then a nightclub. That's not much different to what happens at conferences I've attended, except it ends before the nightclub, usually.

kelnos 11y ago

Conversely, I didn't party much at all in college, and I don't really have a professional network from that period of time. I developed all of that later, post-college, when I started partying (I'm a late bloomer, I guess). I hate "networking" events, and have never managed to get much out of them when I've forced myself to go, but love meeting people organically through regular social outings. Some of those people turn into friends, some turn into professional contacts, and some turn into both.