One of the larger problems with Portland are the consultants and business coaches that network like crazy but don't develop any skills. Connections do not equal competence. The best and the brightest in the service industries rarely need to network because they have built up an impressive track record over 20 to 30 years. In Portland, you seem to get a lot of 20 somethings that spend all day blogging and tweeting about their skill but have never honed it.