What Does Networking Mean To You?

From my post at MyLinkedInPowerForum

I just started reading Keith Ferrazzi's new book, "Never Eat Alone,
And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship At A Time",
and there it is in Chapter one:

"Over time, I came to see reaching out to people as a way to make a
difference in people's lives as well as a way to explore and learn and
enrich my own; it became the conscious construction of my life's path.
Once I saw networking efforts in this light, I gave myself permission
to practice it with abandon in every part of my professional and
personal life. I didn't think of it as cold and impersonal, the way I
thought of "networking." I was, instead, *connecting* -- sharing my
knowledge and resources, time and energy, friends and associates, and
empathy and compassion in a continual effort to provide value for
others, while coincidentally increasing my own. Like business itself,
being a connector is not about managing transactions, but about
managing relationships."

I couldn't have said it better myself and its exactly how I feel about
"networking". I'm only 9 pages into Keith's book and I've already
received many times more value than the $16.47 I paid it.