Bridge by Mariano Martel, from Flickr CC BY NC It was one of those huge conference parties. The kind where the free drink tickets draw the cost-conscious and the alcohol-minded. It was an effort in networking. One of those torturous skills that, if you aren't born knowing how to do it, the only way to get better is by doing more of it. Which basically meant my fake smile did not disguise the eyes of a cornered badger. One person took pity on me. Either he recognized the look of barely concealed terror or he was just being polite, I'm not sure. He introduced himself as Steve , a game-design teacher at a middle school in New Jersey. Steve never came off as creepy, the way I often do when I introduce myself for the first time. He seemed genuinely interested in what I did and the company I worked for. And when the conversation naturally lulled, we exchanged business cards and went our separate ways like it was no big deal. Two years, many Twitter chats and in-person hugs ...