We keep hearing how incredibly influential blogs are. But is it all blogs, or just the few that attract enough readership to make a difference? This is one of the issues explored by Foreign Policy in an extensive article on the impact of blogs on (what else?) foreign policy. The article, “Web of Influence”, explores the degree to which blogs drive media and policy. How revolutionary will they ultimately be? The article quotes Wonkette blogger Anna Marie Cox: “A revolution requires that people leave their house.”

As for authors Daniel Drezner and Henry Farrell, they recognize that most blog fodder comes from mainstream media. It would be difficult to replace the source of content, suggesting that blogs and media will co-exist, not that blogs will co-opt mainstream media. “In this way, the blogosphere serves both as an amplifier and as a remixer of media coverage. For the traditional media?and ultimately, policymakers?this makes the blogosphere difficult to ignore as a filter through which the public considers foreign-policy questions.”

It’s a long piece, but fascinating reading from a different perspective.