It feels like your post compares the US and German populations and asks why Germany isn’t more like the US. I think instead the question should be: Germans obviously conceive the internet differently – what type of website can capitalize on their use and perceived value of the internet? That’s a tough question and one more for the startups and anthropologists than amateurs like me.

With regards to blogging, the concept really took off in the US partially because prominent journalists embraced it in its early stages (both becoming bloggers themselves and by citing blogs in their news stories). It’s pretty understandable if German journalists don’t want to dig their own grave as US journalists did. But why should a culture that has deep respect for established credentials embrace something as upstart as blogging at all? On another note, why should twitter excite a population that uses SMSs differently than Americans? Does a healthy social media scene need either of these functions?

And web enthusiasts often forget, most Americans don’t care about blogging, social media, or twitter – it’s just a prominent minority that pays attention to these things. Perhaps Germany, with a smaller population, just has more trouble finding the enthusiasts who will set the tone for the rest of the country.

Further reading (you might already know that): http://sz-magazin.sueddeutsche.de/texte/anzeigen/29176
and of course http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/05/business/05pr.html?_r=1

All that being said I don’t think social marketing is the (only) way forward. There’s a place for it, but it’s not for everyone. And it doesn’t have to be.