Yeah there's that about the dead ends. Been there as well. My own field now has a lot more gains to be had from networking. Past ones, not so much. Maybe it depends on the nature of the job as well? I'm not sure. I imagine it's a lot more helpful in sales.
I'm not great at it myself honestly. I could really learn from my spouse. She's an SME in a niche field and literally every job after the first one, she was recruited by someone in her network. But that's neither here, nor there.
Anyway, that's all I got. Rant over.
Reading thru the thread ... Only thing I can say is, I don't like Friends. Cool if you do though. Can't watch Seinfeld anymore. Didn't age well as I aged. Again, just me. Cool if you do.
Get you your joy as long as it harms no one else.