There's a reason that the term "schmoozing" has something of a negative connotation. An article that ran recently in Forbes dissects the squeamishness with which many people approach networking and posits that the main problem is that these people see it as "manipulative" and "fake." (See, you're not the only one.) That said, there are great reasons to network, and ways to do it on a more genuine level, according to the article.