Plaxo, a "smart address book" service provider, recently published their second Connected Index, which is a list of which job titles have the most connections based on the average number of contacts in their address book. 15 million Plaxo members' address books were used for the study. Unsurprisingly, talent agents were reported to be the most connected with an average of over 628 contacts, followed by publicists (490), and publishers (475). Check out the press release to read more about the findings.

What I found especially interesting was corresponding list of the top 50 connected professions. According to the list, bloggers ranked above the Plaxo average of 203 with an average of 267 contacts in their address book, which was 20 more contacts than journalists, reporters, and writers (247). Obviously, this study is a bit questionable in its accuracy (is "geek" really a profession?). I'm not sure if only business contacts were counted for this study, or if the average number includes personal contacts. Would my brother, my best friend from when I was eleven, and my high school Spanish teacher count as "blogger contacts"?

Even still, the suggestion that bloggers are more connected than journalists is intriguing. We've all heard the ongoing blogger vs. journalist debate (Bloggers sacrifice accuracy for timeliness! Wait, no, bloggers are more accurate! They don't cite sources! No, they link more!), and it's pretty clear that some journalists aren't fans of the increasing popularity of bloggers. However, in February Digital Journal pointed to an ifocos study that surveyed Americans and found that 55% of Americans "said bloggers are important to the future of American journalism." The survey also found that

Most respondents (53%) also said the rise of free Internet-based media pose the greatest opportunity to the future of professional journalism and three in four (76%) said the Internet has had a positive impact on the overall quality of journalism.

The general public certainly seems to think that the rise of bloggers and the increasing availability of media on the Internet will positively shape journalism. I think that, as a whole, journalists are better writers than bloggers, but bloggers do have speed and, sometimes, the injection of a subjective voice on their side (which can, at times, make for a more interesting, passionate read than something that only delivers the straight facts).

Does the notion that bloggers are more connected than journalists hint that this shift is already happening? Does this signify that bloggers have an advantage over journalists, in that they have more connections from which to develop breaking news, compelling stories, etc? Will journalists eventually embrace bloggers and become some sort of super journo-blogger (journogger?) hybrid, or do you think some of them will still uphold the "us vs. them" mentality?