I agree that in theory they are different, but in practice they seem to blend quite significantly (viewed with my sample size of 1 of course).

I just think you're over fitting to that sample size of one. It's like saying you're never going to talk to another human because two people once plotted a crime by talking to each other. You're conflating the ends with the means.

Does that mean that you don't trust yourself to separate them in practice?

Cronyism is what you call it from the outside; networking is what you call it from the inside.