Re: Color me unsurprised...
I only read Wired (the US edition) (*) a few times circa 2000-2001. I liked the idea of it- in part influenced by its reputation, but never really took to it.
Later I realised that- rather than the tech/science magazine it presented itself as- it was fundamentally a glossy business (**) and lifestyle-oriented magazine aimed at the sort of people who liked the *idea* of being into technology and science, but who really weren't when it came down to it.
From what I remember, some of their articles *were* quite long and gave the impression of being serious and in-depth. The problem was that- despite this- once you got to the end, you realised that you'd actually learned (or rather, been told) relatively little of substance about the tech or science from the article, or indeed about anything. It was a US-centric, startup-fetishising wank/bloat-fest.
Maybe this got worse after Conde Nast took it over in the late 90s, but I suspect it was always overhyped.
To be fair, I've read some interesting stuff on the Wired website- which I gather was under separate ownership for a long time- but I've still no desire to buy the mag again.
(*) Never read the UK edition, so can't judge that
(**) Specifically the tech business, granted, but it was still about that particular business, rather than the tech itself