I've found I need to work a bit harder than I used to.
As you noted, it used to be as simple as just showing up to some conferences/events and chatting with folks.
Now I've found that I need to take it a bit further, I need to identify folks that I have common ground with or otherwise want to meet and reach out via LinkedIn or email, introduce myself, and ask if they'd be so kind to meet for coffee, etc.
Thus has worked well for me.
