Matthew Taylor reports from the Netroots UK summit as student and union activists join anti-tax avoidance and anti-racism campaigners to talk tactics
• Read our panel of commentators on Netroots UK
4.41pm: Here's my final dispatch. The Netroots conference received an unlikely endorsement this afternoon when the Tory blogger behind ConservativeHome, Tim Montgomery, told the gathering that they were at "the beginning of something special".
Venturing into the heart of enemy territory at the TUC headquarters, Montgomery told a session on the future of blogging that "the left" should be proud of the online presence it was beginning to muster.
"The right has dominated the blogosphere for a number of years and I would not say I am anxious to see a gathering such as this but I am fascinated by it. If you plan it right it could be a huge expansion of the left wing, the labour movement."
This afternoon had a series of sessions – from the use of satire in campaigns to the "10 new web tools you need to know" – that tried to set out how delegates could make that statement a reality.
The scale and commitment of the people at today's event suggests that the online political debate maybe shifting leftwards in the UK, and by putting on this event the TUC has shown it is committed to listening to those involved in the recent wave of protests on their use of online tools.
Organisers are already talking about the next Netroots event – Netrootsnorth – so it will be interesting to see how others in the wider labour movement, and particularly those in the parliamentary Labour party, react as this movement develops.
1.13pm: Interesting morning at the Netroots conference where hundreds of people were queuing up outside the TUC building when I arrived at 9.15am.
The strengths and weaknesses of the broad coalition on show has been in evidence during the morning sessions. On the one hand there has been an impressive range of ideas and experience, and a genuine feeling that this could be the start of an "important progressive movement" bringing together elements of the traditional labour movement with the new wave of protesters, from students to anti-tax avoidance campaigners. However the different political, ideological and organising backgrounds of such a diverse group have led to some predictable tensions.
There was anger in the opening session at the suggestion everyone should join the Labour party with one young activist getting a round of applause after naming Iraq, tuition fees and 10p tax as part of the case against the mainstream political party.
At another session there was a gnashing of teeth at the back when one contributor, who said he was a veteran of environmental protests, suggested the trade unions were "good at striking" but not much else.
However Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC, got a warm response to his opening address when he argued this is the start of a new and important coalition, describing it as a "critical moment for progressives."
Sounding the opposite of the "union dinosaur" caricature, he referred repeatedly to 'progressive politics' and name-checked the recent student movement and the tax avoidance campaigns, saying it was the job of progressives of all stripes to come together to fight for the future of the UK.
So it looks like the success of this fledgling movement might depend on whether Labour party activists, unions, greens, feminists and the new wave of anti-cuts campaigners can respect their differences and campaign together to show that the government's plans are not just unfair – but unnecessary.
9.45am: Today hundreds of student and union activists are joining tax avoidance protesters and anti-racist campaigners at the Netroots conference in London.
It is the first gathering of its kind in the UK, although a similar event has been held in the US for several years under the Netroots Nation banner. Organisers hope today's event will bring traditional campaigners face to face with those behind the innovative street campaigns that have taken off in the UK over the past few months – from the student protests to the UK-wide tax avoidance demonstrations.
The conference, which has been organised by bloggers and is backed by the Trades Union Congress, will consist of a series of workshops and practical discussions focusing on a range of subjects, from the use of irony and humour in protests to the latest web tools and how to translate online activity into offline "boots on the ground".
There will be some big-hitting union figures in attendance, including Brendan Barber, the general secretary of the TUC, and some of the UK's leading bloggers will be there. But the focus will be on the thoughts and plans of those behind the recent student protests, as well as tax avoidance campaigners and anti-racist activists.
Clifford Singer, campaign director of the anti-cuts website False Economy, said all these groups had harnessed the web to create hugely effective campaigns in 2010. But he said that "much of what is going on is still fragmented".
"To mobilise hundreds of thousands of people behind anti-cuts campaigns in 2011, we're going to need a more co-ordinated effort, learning good practice in each other's areas and helping the public see the links between the issues and the case for the alternative," Singer said earlier this week.
One long-time union official told me that today's event would be an important test of whether it was possible to bring together the various strands of the UK's fledgling "anti-cuts" movement – and whether the real political struggle was now taking place in the street rather than Westminster.
He said the unions were keen not only to harness the energy of the new protests, but to listen and learn from them too – a sentiment expressed before Christmas by the newly elected head of Unite, Len McCluskey.
I'll be going to the meeting today and I will be dipping in and out of various sessions to see who is saying what and hopefully get a sense of whether this could be the beginning of an important new force in UK politics. I'll post updates here as and when I get chance.