Case and point, the Egyptian blogger who was jailed for criticising the government got coverage in numerous publications the world over, something that would not have been possible even ten years ago. Something more recent? Al Gore and his Nobel Prize. Don’t forget that to put climate change on the global agenda, Gore utilised the internet to its maximum capacity to generate a buzz.

The most interesting aspect of this online activism and outrage is that it is issue-based and not particularly country-based. But can the online community ever put enough pressure to change the outcome of any political fracas? It is an interesting question.

Open-source politics, as this is called, is a huge factor in assessing this possibility — it helps involve more people in political causes than ever. Open-source refers to the fact that anyone can join in and have a say. There is no formal membership and no real top down structure.

And once you’re online, you are a global citizen. You can read The New York Times, Dawn and Le Monde, all at the same time. And because of a borderless existence, at every aggressive foreign policy measure, every repressive action, every time blogspot is banned, the blogosphere goes into a tizzy. The media picks it up and carries the stories. Petitions do the rounds. Increasingly, people have decided to hold rallies in their cities, once they have connected with like-minded people online. The internet, we must remember, is a tool, not the end. Print is translated into action.

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