Meeting more people that know about your skills and abilities is a good thing, not a bad thing.
Having people to vouch for your character and work abilities isn't "Cheating", its having others that know about your skills and abilities that can pass along your aptitude to others in lieu of a piece of paper or a resume that may be meaningless.
I am not a social butterfly, but I know enough people in my industry, after building contacts for 6 years, to be able to make a call or two and get hired on if I were ever to lose my job. Just because you suck at it doesn't mean you can't learn if you make the effort.. Networking was something you were supposed to do in college, but you seemingly didn't do that.
And for what its worth, my job was entirely self-made, so I didn't have the advantage of college or other built-in networks. I'd imagine that made my job a little harder, but in the end, I did what I had to.
Back from the dead, I'm afraid.
