There's no question that networks help, although I guess you could quibble over whether it's "unfair" or not. But what comes up here on HN sometimes - and this is one place I disagree with michaelochurch - is the issue of gaining access to certain networks or individuals. I think MOC and some others feel like you're largely "in or out" now and forever, and that you can't find a way to forge a bridge into a network (say, local VC's) that you aren't already part of. I have not found this to be the case, at least here in the Raleigh / Durham, NC area.

Now, truth be told, if you're somebody "important" like a VC or a well known angel investor, you might not be seeking out "common people" to pull into your orbit, and when you're in a position where a lot of people are coming to you wanting something, you probably learn to be a bit more guarded and put up some filters. This may not be completely unlike the way some very attractive women put up what guys sometimes call a "bitch shield" when they get tired of getting hit on all the time.

But, at the same time, these people are human, and they are social creatures, and they ultimately need the people with good ideas and startups, just as much as they are needed in turn. And if you take the time to learn how they work, where they hang out, what events to attend, and you trawl your existing network and ask for connections, etc., you can reach a point where your network includes VC's, or angels, or CEO's of companies, or pretty much whatever. Treat people like people, not like caricatured images, ask politely for their assistance with something, demonstrate that you represent (at least potentially) some value to them, and most people will reciprocate, and the relationship can grow slowly over time. It is almost like dating in a sense.

Now what you can't necessarily do is develop a network of "all my Stanford alumnus friends" if you didn't attend Stanford, or whatever. But you can build a network of the kind of people you need to have relationships with... if it's hotshot engineers you feel like you need to connect with, go to the local LUG and JUG meetings, Perl Mongers meeting, Ruby Brigade meetings, Javascript meetups, Hadoop User's Group meetings, etc. And, like mentioned in TFA, start establishing your credibility in your field by blogging, tweeting, speaking publicly (speak at the aforementioned LUG, JUG, HUG, etc. meetings, for example) and other active steps. Write a book if you have to; self-publish on Lulu.com if you want to, and get an ISBN so it will be available on Amazon.com and via special order at retail book shops.

None of this stuff is easy but it's doable. Trust me, I know. I was the "country bumpkin" guy who grew up in Redneckville, NC, far away from anything or anybody technical, and after I moved to the RTP area, I did pretty much everything I just said (minus writing a book, which I'd still like to do, but don't have time right now). And while I'm not the most connected person in the world, I know many of the local VC's and angels, have friends who are VP's, CEO's, etc. of companies, and have a broad network of talented technical people that I have relationships with. It has taken work and taken time (and the journey isn't over) but you can "network up" with some effort in my experience.

Edit: Oh yeah, another thing you can do, although I really don't recommend this as purely an exercise in network building / PR: Run for public office. It varies by state, but here in NC, you can run for a statewide office, like, for example, Lieutenant Governor, just by filing some paperwork and paying the fee and - depending on whether you are associated with a party or not, and that party's status, possibly doing some petitioning. If you run as a Republican or Democrat, you will likely have a primary against the other members of that party who file for the same office. If you run as a 3rd party, like Libertarian, you're likely to be unopposed in the primary phase and will automatically go straight to the ballot in the general election. Anyway, once you file, you'll start getting surveys to fill out and invites to various candidate forums and events. Go to them and speak.

I did this (running for NC Lieutenant Governor as a Libertarian) and got about 126,000 votes, so at least a few people have heard my name out there. But, again, I wouldn't necessarily recommend this just as a way to network. Yeah, you'll meet a lot of people, and you will get a little bit of media coverage (even as a 3rd party unknown, the media don't totally exclude you, they just mostly exclude you) and you might even be on TV in a debate. But whether or not the people you meet doing this will help your later career or initiatives (unless you really want to be a politician) is subject to debate. And more than a few of the people you meet will automatically put you in the "enemy" bucket just due to party affiliation, so it could actually hurt you down the road. And you probably won't even know if it happens.