Teachers and social network services: Uses for mobilization and legitimation purposes

This paper is dedicated the intensive and smart uses of social network services by Madrid (Spain) teachers in their struggle for legitimation before public opinion and against the regional educational administration. I analyze the use of the topics created and spread by the wider 15M, Acampada Sol and Indignados movement, the erosion of the public image of political authorities, the development of a pro-public and anti-market rhetoric  and the quest for a sentiment of union and strength. Particular attention is payed to the activity of such as @soypublica (I am public), @profesoressinesperanza and other most popular accounts in Twitter, as well as their equivalents in Facebook, and the use of hashtags such as #mareaverde, #defiendelopublico, etc., some of which became trending topics in the network.