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Sat 11 Nov 2002An Irishwoman's DiaryAn N-word is stalking our lives. It is not nuclear, nor nitrates, though the effect is poisonous. Everywhere it is sneaking up on us. A worthy Sunday publication asserted that its effect was more powerful than advertising. Be afraid for old-fashioned virtues like sincerity or hard work, or picking friends because you like them, for we are living in the age of - Networking, writes Angela Long.Networking, for the childlike and the good still unfamiliar with this contemporary obligation, is using personal contacts to forward business projects, or an individual's career. Since I leapt from the safety of the mother-ship Irish Times into the murky depths of self-employment, the N-word haunts my dreams.