Since Rickey, Jenni and I appeared in that Sun Times article last week, I’ve been thinking a lot about networking. Coincidentally, I’ve just returned from a major networking extravaganza. And it took me totally by surprise. Here’s what happened.

One of my clients is Lakland Musical Instruments, a bass guitar manufacturer located here in Chicago. And I’m a bass player as well as a writer. Handy, hunh?

Anyway, I was invited to go with Lakland to the winter NAMM show (National Association of Music Manufacturers) Jan. 17-20 in Anaheim, California. I went because I wanted to take a bunch of pictures for the Lakland Web site and MySpace, meet some artists and set up some interviews. Plus I’d heard it was a lot of fun. I did not go to “network.” I went for a little vacation. (Yes, I went to a trade show on my vacation. That makes me a geek. I know.)

I met more people in those three days (Thu. - Sat.) than I have all year. I met people on the shuttle to and from the hotel. I met people at the Lakland booth. I met people standing at a counter eating a plastic hamburger at the convention center cafeteria. It was wild.

And I think I know what happened — and why. I love music, music stuff, gear, music people, and artists. I love every aspect of the business and everything in it. And you can tell from the picture — I was lit up like a Christmas tree, exuding happiness and contentment. Being in my element turned me into a people magnet.

So next time you want to network, forget about where the “best” or “right” people are. Figure out where there are a lot of people doing things that you love, and join in. And then just watch what happens.