Interesting to note in the recent Technorati State of the Blogosphere/2008 report that European bloggers are, in general, younger and more predominantly male (73%) than US bloggers (57% male).  It appears that European bloggers' median annual profit (from advertising on their blogs) is 54% higher and their average monthly blog traffic is 33% higher than their US counterparts.  Score one for our side of the Atlantic.

For PRs, the study also unveils that 1/3 of those surveyed have already been approached to be brand advocates and that 82% of those surveyed post brand or product reviews.  Such findings suggest that, in this global snapshot of bloggers, blogs have become an increasingly important source of information by readers.  Conversely, for marketers, blogs appear to be gold dust as they are highly amenable to marketing opportunities. 

However, perhaps we need to harness the glee of universal optimism about brands and blogs for a moment.  As brands gain ground in the share of conversation by bloggers, questions of trust and trustworthiness arise.

As new media pioneer Dan Gillmor comments:

Traditional media are using these tools to do better journalism, and are beginning to engage their audiences in the journalism. Entrepreneurial journalists are finding profitable niches. Advertisers are starting to grasp the value of the conversations, and so on. The big issues remain, including the crucial one of trust. Here, too, we're seeing progress. The best blogs are as trustworthy as any traditional media, if not more. The worst, often offering fact-challenged commentary, are reprehensible and irresponsible. But audiences are learning, perhaps too slowly, that modern media require a more activist approach. We need to be skeptical of everything, but not equally skeptical of everything.

Gillmor's call for scepticism dovetails with Jeff Jarvis' vision for collaborative communities as the next generation of news and networked journalism.  I look forward to seeing where it leads and examples of networked trust developing as we redefine news and journalism.