Talent Agents, Publicists, Politicians, and CEOs Top Connected Index as Most Well-Connected Professions

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Plaxo®, Inc., creator of the smart address book, today announced the results of the company's second Connected Index. The company's global ‘Job Title' Connected Index ranks the level of personal connectedness based on an individual's job title and the average number of contacts in their Plaxo smart address book.

“Plaxo is becoming the insider's tool for Hollywood”

The study, supported by anonymous, aggregated data from over 15 million Plaxo members, found that Talent Agents are by far the most connected, with an average of more than 628 contacts in their address books. Publicists rank second, with an average of 490 contacts. Publishers come in third place with 475 contacts. By comparison, the average Plaxo address book has 203 contacts, although it is not uncommon for individuals to use Plaxo to stay in touch with several thousand contacts.

As the 2008 Elections approach, Politicians are also building out their networks, with an average of 364 in contacts in their address books. Naturally, Lobbyists also are well-connected, with an average of 255 contacts. Other top scoring “networkers” are church leaders (297 contacts), Realtors (280 contacts), and Veterinarians (216 contacts).

As a Personal Technology Consultant in Los Angeles, CA, a common request from Brett Arthur's celebrity clientele is to enable their teams of assistants to access the same shared address book from multiple computers and PDAs, and to get that information anywhere, anytime, and anyplace.

“Plaxo is becoming the insider's tool for Hollywood,” said Brett Arthur. “The old adage is it's not what you know, it's who you know; today it's also who you can reach. If your address book is out of date what good is it? Hollywood knows that better than anyone, so it's no surprise that talent agents and casting directors were found to be so well connected.”

With over 50 professions analyzed, including members from 98 of the Fortune 100 companies, this research into how connected individuals are brought some interesting comparisons. As expected, heads of companies, Publicists and Executive Assistants were close to the top of the list. An unexpected find was that IT, Tech Specialists and Engineers are more connected then the people-centric professions of Doctors, Travel Agents and Accountants. Dads (108 contacts) are more connected than Moms (50). Lawyers (364 contacts) are more connected than Judges (246). And even self-styled “Geeks” (92 contacts) are more connected than lonesome Cowboys (51).

“For many, a connected address book can be directly related to how successful you are in your job,” said John McCrea, vice president of marketing, Plaxo. “But the most interesting thing about the Index is that it illustrates that everyone can find value in Plaxo. We probably have every job title represented across our more than 15 million members - the need to stay connected with the people that matter in your life is universal.”

Plaxo issues Connected Index findings regularly to measure "connectedness" as it evolves through increasing Internet and online social networking usage worldwide.

Plaxo's Connected Index measures connectedness by counting the number of contacts in members' address books. No other data about the Plaxo member is reviewed or considered. Job title and profession differences are subjective and may be a result of many factors, including lack of title listed, predominant industries, culture, web connectedness, and comfort-level with the English language. Plaxo's previous Connected Index study [http://www.plaxo.com/about/releases/release-20060822] compared connectedness by country, finding Argentina, whose citizens have an average of 479 contacts, the most connected country. Plaxo has not released statistics on the connectedness of Argentinean Talent Agents.

About Plaxo Inc.

Plaxo is the creator of the “smart address book” service that helps millions of people around the world stay organized, up-to-date, and in touch with their friends, family, colleagues, and customers. Founded in 2001, Plaxo is a privately held company, funded by leading investment and technology firms - Sequoia Capital, Globespan Capital Platforms, Harbinger Venture Management and Cisco Systems - and by individual investors Ram Shriram and Tim Koogle. The company offers services both directly to consumers and through a wide range of service provider partnerships. More information on the company is available at www.plaxo.com.

Plaxo is a registered trademark of Plaxo, Inc. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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