The Swarm

Who spilled the beans about blog swarming? Was it you, Baron Bodissey?:

Just how much influence they had in the race isn't clear, but there's no question about the growing political influence of blogs _ Web sites created and used by thousands of people who post news, opinions, journals and anything else that may be on their mind at the time.

Blogging analysts call it swarming. Others say it's like a hurricane when hundreds of the bloggers' Web sites seize on a topic and then thousands and even tens of thousands of people read what they have to say.

Increasingly, political campaigns have had to adapt to the blogging era of political activism, and candidates and bloggers alike expect online opinion to have a big impact on the midterm elections this year.

So far swarms from the Right have been more successful than swarms from the Left, but I would definitely hesitate assigning any big blog as influential on another in regards to swarming. The Harriet Miers nomination was shot down in a Right-wing swarm that was in direct contradiction of what many supposedly influential conservative bloggers wanted.
As for influencing readers to effect change, the biggest blog in the world hasn't been able to get a single candidate elected.