Random House defines networking as:
to cultivate people who can be helpful to one professionally
Cultivating is about planting seeds, feeding and watering them over an extended period of time before you harvest anything. You don't start by harvesting (taking). You start by planting seeds (giving), knowing that only some of the seeds you plant will sprout.
When you're new to an organization or a team, some people will reach out to you and offer help. They are planting seeds with you, starting to enroll you in their network. Wonderful. At the same time, reach out to others and plant seeds with them.
Networking is a good thing done right. If everyone in the world spent all their time figuring out how they could help others instead of how to leverage, use, exploit, and take from others, the world would be a very different place. Not that we can change the whole world, but we can change our little corners of it.
