I have no idea how to maintain a relationship if I'm not interacting with the other person at least monthly. I like to blame it on my background as a military brat. When another kid's military parent was transferred, you knew you would never see him or her again, and vice versa.
Of course, it could be something else entirely. I find it difficult to learn names or faces, and, as I noted, forget most of them without regular use. I find I'm also not particularly interested in or very good at many of the social interactions others seem to take for granted. I dislike when someone I haven't seen or heard from in several years pops up, especially out of context. My wife takes it for granted that she's not going to get introduced; she know I don't remember who the other person was.
I feel very uncomfortable asking personal favors, especially of former co-workers and others with whom I no longer have anything in common. I feel like I'm using people for what they can do for me, especially when I know I have minimal or no interest in them personally. I abhor such requests from others. Maybe this is due to my never having a personal relationship with them away from work, and not really being interested in one
I absolutely hate writing recommendations, which I understand is one of the key interactions on LinkedIn. I've only been asked to do so two or three times, fortunately by people I had no reservations in recommending. It's something I take -very- seriously, and feel that writing them at the drop of a hat cheapens them. My insistence on accuracy, disgust with many canned formats I've seen, and overall lack of experience meant each took me a three or four hours. I don't know how to write a brief one. I wouldn't know where to begin if I had to ask someone else to write one about me. I don't know that I could even come up with a list of people to ask.
I've had three jobs in my 26-year IT career, and none were obtained via 'networking'. I wasn't able to develop or leverage any social connections during a 21-year military reservist career either. Fortunately, I'm not actively seeking work or advancement. I know circumstances can change, but my job looks as stable as one could hope in the current economy. I try to not feel too uncomfortable about my inability to 'network' or socialize, but sometimes I'm envious of the ability of others to do so and even apparently enjoy it.
But enough of this self-examination. The socially skilled gang of 'Big Bang Theory' is on
