How long before online campaigns will spill on to the streets?

Members of the V-mask group have expressed their dissatisfaction by posting criticism on Facebook pages of government agencies and prominent figures in power.
This is not the first time that people have taken to cyberspace to mount attacks against Thaksin’s side. Small anti-Thaksin groups have been opening Facebook pages to criticise the former prime minister and Pheu Thai for years, joining other websites and Twitter pages dedicated to the same cause.
Recently, a new front in the online attacks was opened when Kaewsan Atibodhi, formerly of the Assets Examination Committee, and former senior police officer Vasit Dejkunjorn formed the Thai Spring group. The group joined some 25,000 netizens who protested against the speech Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra gave in Mongolia.
Kaewsan said the purpose of the Thai Spring Facebook page was to give people with similar opinions a voice online, adding that this might lead to actions in the real world.
Many who dislike Thaksin undoubtedly want to see a “Thai Spring” develop along the lines of the Arab Spring, leading to the ousting of what they see as a corrupt leadership. Many have also placed their faith in the V-mask movement.
Their hopes have been transferred away from the anti-Thaksin People’s Alliance for Democracy, whose leaders are facing long lists of criminal charges and are required by bail conditions to behave themselves.
Apart from being restrained by court orders, PAD leaders have also lost public faith because their hidden agendas have slipped out. Many are now seen as having ulterior motives that have little to do with democracy.
As a result, those critical of Thaksin have resorted to small and individual campaigns via Facebook pages.
These small groups had been campaigning for a while but had failed to join forces as a major movement. The V-mask phenomenon has changed that trend by providing a single focus for government protests that have followed a series of recent incidents.
This focused online protest began with anger over the government’s plan to enact a bill for Bt2 trillion in off-budget loans. The frustration of netizens with the ongoing charter amendment process has also grown. They fear that the government is likely to rush an amnesty/reconciliation bill through Parliament to benefit the Thaksin side if opposition outside Parliament is not strong enough.
Government critics have also been frustrated to see members of red-shirt groups bullying other organisations. So, they have taken to cyberspace as the only channel available for venting their frustration.
Examples from other countries show that Internet campaigns have always failed to grow if their topics are too trivial. Initially, most Thai netizens expected the V-mask campaign to follow that pattern and die down.
However, Pheu Thai seems to have over-reacted by threatening to file lawsuits against the V-mask protesters. Had Pheu Thai ignored the campaign, the V-mask phenomenon would have died down in a just a few days like other social-networking campaigns.
So why did Pheu Thai get provoked by the V-mask campaign, rather than ignoring it? Did it fear that its own recent actions might spark protests that would unite its opponents and eventually threaten its demise?
Actually, Pheu Thai has good reason to be concerned, as small campaigns have in the past grown into mass protest rallies. It knows that netizens may be waiting for the right moment to march out of cyberspace and onto the streets.