Last sentence: "It's a viscious cycle of disappointment - grab the first interesting person you meet there and go somewhere else for coffee." is completely de

Last sentence: "It's a viscious cycle of disappointment - grab the first interesting person you meet there and go somewhere else for coffee." is completely dead on. People are beyond shallow at 99.9% of these events but they keep on coming back beating that networking ROI drum. Sorry, being a part of clubs, committees and boards is simply stroking your own ego. Get out, meet people and put yourself in odd and different situations. Relationships formed from these interactions will be the ones that you cherish and keep giving back year after year.