Paulina Sygulska on: How to network effectively

The Paulina article links to a blog post by Jacques. here's the HN discussion of that post:<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2245063" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2245063</a>

Great post, worst thing about networking is learning howto approach first. I read somewhere best way to train is to talk to people in a lift. If it all goes pear-shaped at least you have have a few seconds

One more tip: You are networking with the people in the room, not with the ones on your mobile phone.

This makes sense on one level, but it's confusing on another. As a recent transplant to the bay area and an engineer at a big company, I don't feel like I have many "leads" to offer people. But in order to meet people, I need to network. How does one begin the process?