Take a look at your network right now and while it probably has some diversity, I bet it’s tied pretty closely to what you do right now. That make sense, right? You meet people that are in the same line of work because those are the blogs you read, the events you attend.
It’s smart, but it’s only good until things change. Probably you don’t know yet what the “next” thing will be, but maybe you at least have an idea or two. Maybe it’s about location and you need to focus more on meeting people in Orlando or Dallas or Phoenix. Maybe it’s to leave the comforts and confines of being an employee to be a consultant so you start networking with consultants and following consulting companies.
It’s harder I think, and the return is even less sure than the leap of faith effort that your current networking takes. It’s never going to be a loss though. At worst you’ve grown your network and that’s always worth doing.
SQLAndy 
For me, it”s the other way around. I kinda know what”s next. I know what I want to do next. But I just don”t who or how to actually get connected with people in the real world. I am currently looking for some good job opportunities. My tendency should be to be out there reaching out to people but I am not good at connecting. I”m quite introvert. Last week, I attended SQL Saturday 120. There”s a handful of sql geeks there that I”m following on twitter. I was only able to approach a couple.
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Marlon, I use a couple tricks that might help:
– I try to meet 3 new people at each event. After that I can go back to the introvert comfort zone!
– I review the speaker list prior to the speaker dinner and make an effort to meet anyone I don”t know
– Post event, I review the networking page and send follow ups via LinkedIn.
It”s a simple pattern I can repeat, and over time the list of people you know grows nicely.
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