I really like this article. I posted it to a couple of my LinkedIn groups.I like it because it's really tech focused.
It talks about designing something yourself, showcasing your work, competing in hackathons and coding contests, and actually using the product.
As you mentioned, dataguy, networking is considered the best way to get a job. (The Society for Human Resources Managers published a study about a decade ago saying that 65% of US jobs are obtained through networking. I think that's probably true because people feel more comfortable hiring people they know or who have been referred by someone they trust.) The thing is, many people get the wrong idea about what networking is. They think it means going to meetings, shaking people's hands and passing out business cards. That's not it. It's getting the right people to know you can do the job. As someone once said to me, "It's not what you know. It's not who you know. It's who knows what you know."
This article has some good ideas about how to use social media in ways to engage with the startup, to get recognized by relevant communities, and to basically get yourself noticed. It's networking, but in ways that are less threatening to people like me who are on the shy side.
