🤝 Networking Is Out. Community Is In

Techies Off The Clock - Part 3

How NYC tech went from cold introductions to real connection.

If Posts 1 and 2 were about kickball fields, PM captains, parabola-obsessed engineers, and chaotic group chats, Post 3 zooms all the way out.

Because something bigger is happening in NYC tech — and rec leagues are just the entry point.

We’re witnessing a shift:

People don’t want networking events anymore.
They want community.

And honestly? It makes sense.

🟣 Cold networking is exhausting

Think about the old routine:

• rehearse a 30-second intro

• stand around holding a drink you don’t want

• pretend you’re “super passionate” about someone’s startup

• survive three awkward conversations

• leave with a stack of business cards you’ll never look at again

This era is dying. Quietly.
And no one is sad about it.

🟪 Community feels different

Community is easy in ways networking never was.

You show up to kickball.
Or a climbing gym.
Or a writers group.
Or a cozy coffee shop meetup.
Or a Sunday run on the West Side Highway.

No pitch.
No pressure.
No posturing.

You just… belong.

Moments, not metrics.
People, not prospects.
Conversations, not conversions.

🟣 Why it works for tech people

Tech workers love systems.
And community, ironically, is one of the best systems ever created.

It provides:

• shared identity

• consistent touchpoints

• natural collaboration

• emotional safety

• actual joy (!!)

You don’t need icebreakers.
You don’t need business cards.
You don’t need a perfect intro.

You just need to show up.

🟪 The shift is bigger than rec leagues

Clubs, cafes, climbing gyms, book meetups, coffee chats — NYC tech has started forming micro-communitieseverywhere.

Mini-tribes.
Groups with real trust.
Spaces where people feel seen again.

Because after years of Zoom fatigue and quiet loneliness, people aren’t craving opportunity.
They’re craving connection.

💜 The Cat Cache Takeaway

Networking is out.
Community is in.
And this shift — quiet, slow, deeply human — is reshaping NYC tech from the inside.

Your next job?
Your next collaborator?
Your next best friend?
Your next cofounder?

It probably won’t come from a conference badge or a “quick intro call.”

It’ll come from the people you play, laugh, eat, stretch, run, write, build, or kick a ball with.

The systems we build matter.
But the communities we build matter more.

– The Cat Cache Team 🐾