Outside.in, a site featuring local news and blog posts covering 3,000 neighborhoods in 60 cities, found a connection between blogging and the gentrification of communities nationwide in a recent survey, according to The New York Times (via MarketingVOX). But the two things I thought were really interesting were...

• First, what the study suggests about who is writing and reading blogs


• And where they are doing it

"First come the renovated condominiums, the latte bars and the expensive baby strollers. Next, apparently, come the bloggers," writes Times reporter Maria Aspan.

For marketers, the study offers an interesting snapshot of the sort of people who are writing and reading blogs. Bloggers are an educated bunch -- with at least a little money and an eye toward what's hip. In other words, they are a marketer's dream.

Interestingly, they are also right next door. As much as blogging is borderless, it also can be decidedly local. Outside.in, which launched last October, proves as much: the site aggregates local bloggers to share information about neighborhoods, like news and opinions, the scoop on local places or events (like schools, new real estate developments, playgrounds, bars), and allows them to meet interesting new neighbors.

In other words, we aren't bowling alone, which is what some social media naysayers warn. In this case, Outside.in is a social media tool that doesn't replace the local coffee klatch or neighborhood meet-up. Instead, it arranges them.