When launching The Huffington Post, she said she reached out to 500 friends, asking them to be the first bloggers at the news and commentary site. The online publishing product grew from there and has expanded to include 1,800 contributors.

Huffington said she was able to build a vast social network organically throughout her life by doing work that she is passionate about. "The heart of it is your original drive to make your life more purposeful: The key is to find joy in your purpose," she said.

She also noted that relationships with networking contacts are personal as well as professional, and that the time shared cooking quiche in the kitchen of MoveOn.org cofounder and fellow panelist Joan Blades works in tandem with their professional relationship.

Panelists took part in some female bonding, commiserating over the barriers women face in the workplace. "In the world of technology, there is this much lower representation of women and that's something that we'll hopefully be able to shift dramatically," said Blades, who is also a cofounder of Momsrising.org, a group that advocates a more "family-friendly America."