I can certainly do <i>networking</i>, but there’s a difference with that and <i>pure socializing</i>.  When you network, you want to know that the people you’re about to talk to have some reasonable chance of being interested in your topics.  In pure socializing, it doesn’t matter, you just mash as many different people together as possible and it’s all good.<p>When I <i>network</i>, I want to know that <i>this</i> group, <i>here</i>, at <i>this</i> time or in <i>this</i> room or at <i>this</i> table, is actually interested in a specific topic which I wish to discuss.  I can’t do that with a conference of hundreds of people most of which are <i>not</i> interested in the topics I want to discuss.<p>A <i>conference</i> should not be simply an opportunity to socialize.  If that’s how you do conferences, then <i>you’re</i> doing them wrong.