Blogging as Political Action

How widespread is the “netroots” movement outside the United States?

I’m at the Netroots Nation (formerly YearlyKos) conference, taking place August 13-15 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It’s an annual gathering of people who work in online politics in the U.S., or who write politically-oriented blogs, or who are just interested in Internet-based grassroots action.

Over the last half dozen years, the netroots has arisen as a powerful force in American political activism. But I’m wondering how much this phenomenon may have occurred in other nations and cultures. We know, for instance, that Twitter and Facebook are playing (or did play) a major role in the organization of protests in Iran related to their recent election debacle.

How about in other locations? Is there any significant “netroots” movement in England, or Germany, or Russia? What about in China, Japan, or India? Or Australia, Africa, or South America?

I’d like to hear responses from anyone outside the United States who can tell us what you know about the impact of political action via the Internet—especially blogging—in your country or in others that you are aware of. Please don’t try to make a comment on this thread if you live in the U.S. [Moderators, do your best to patrol this.]

Thanks in advance for your input!