Then again - if Spiegel is being insulting about bloggers, that could be about to change.

In the US the mainstream media decided to insult bloggers after they noted their own power slipping. But when it comes to Germany Spiegel is quite right. Blogs have no influence and are of poor quality. I think that has to do with the fact that people are more or less satisfied with the media they (actually "we") have. Additionally in Germany there have been no political developments comparable to what is happening in the US. The impeachment trial, the 2000 election, the Iraq war. Nothing comparable to that has happened in Germany. The reforms connected to the "Agenda 2010" have created a large amount of dissatisfied people, but they where able to assert them selfs by purely traditional political means.