People might say that networking and scholarship are not mutually exclusive and that I could make time for both. Of course, I could make time but here is the thing. I believe that being a research scholar requires a measure of dignity, of respect for yourself and for what you do. I can’t imagine making this sense of self-worth being compatible with seeking out “important” people and inflicting myself upon their notice. I can’t imagine preserving my dignity while begging people for attention with a look of an abandoned sick puppy on my face.
And by the way, two of my acquaintances in my field who were passionate defenders of networking and kept chasing “useful people” around campus and conferences have both been asked to leave their tenure-tracks because with 1 and 0 publications respectively they stood no chance of getting tenure. These are talented, intelligent people who had a chance at good research careers but who had followed the misguided advice from their thesis directors and decided that “developing contacts” was a priority.
Somebody shoot me in the face if I ever demean myself to the point of “developing contacts” instead of simply hanging out with people I like and avoiding people I don’t like.
Clarissa's Blog 
Sadly, my anecdotal-data is the other way around – the people who behave in a way I’d like to dismiss, who have excellent networking skills and good but not unusual or outstanding scholarly skills are the ones getting the best jobs, the most grants, the best research opportunities, whereas people with great ideas and poor networks (for whatever reason!) are writing fewer papers than they might because they are struggling to find work or working in places with high teaching loads and limited research support, with little or no grant funding to help them (in STEM, money really does make a difference to one’s ability to pursue ideas). It’s frustrating, but I do prefer to spend what time I do have on writing papers in the hopes that I can be a decent scholar, since I have much less hope of being a good networker!
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It may depend on your personality and what you can get to work for you. Personalities are whole inroads into realms of experience.
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“if I ever demean myself to the point of “developing contacts” instead of simply hanging out with people I like and avoiding people I don’t like.”
That’s what bugs me the most about the networking hysteria. If you are talented and work hard (in any field) you will naturally develop a good reputation and rapport with your coworkers over time. These kinds of ‘contacts’ will do much more for you than someone you meet in a reception and give your card anyway.
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