A while back, I heard a woman complain that one such business networking event she'd attended was being viewed by several male participants as a prime venue to pick up women. On a certain level, business networking events are a lot like singles parties. There are certain parallels between the two types of events, both physical and sociological. Let's start with the physical. Networking events are often held in a bar.
Singles mingle in bars all the time, and the booze is a flowing in both types of events.
Much like a matchmaker's party, the business networker is often given something to help break the ice while meeting new people. Sometimes it's just a name tag. Other times it's a badge, color-coded to what your professional niche is, or what your convention status is. If that networking promotion doesn't sound like something straight out of a single's party, I don't know what does. The exact same thing occurs at a singles party, although modesty precludes too close an examination of this context.