I would posit that Meetup.com and other public social networking sites are also a significant factor in the recent board game boom. Finding and playing games with 3 to 6 adults is much easier when you can quickly find multiple free events each week in any major U.S. metro area.
That is insightful and correct, also advise hitting google to keep track of "fellow travelers" like the paper/dice RPG crowd and of course local cons. Most cons have a boardgamer presence even if they're supposedly for RPG folks or card gamers. Somebody who plays Pathfinder Society probably is up for a board (or card) game, and unless you're truly in the hinterland there's probably a PFS group "nearby".
From observation, it seems most cons, not just gaming cons, have some kind of board / card / rp gamer meetup.
