Pragmatic Visionaries: Imaginaries, Myths and Technopolitics in the 15M Movement.

This article examines imaginaries regarding the Internet and their influence on the forms of technological appropriation by social movements. It focuses on the concepts of myth, the digital sublime and cyber-libertarian rhetoric that mystify the emancipatory power of the Internet. Through an empirical study based on 37 interviews, three focus groups and participant observations, the imaginaries and media practices of the Spanish 15M movement are analysed. Our results reveal three hybrid tensions between: faith in the democratizing power of the Internet and political praxis; complementary actions in virtual and physical space; and the simultaneous use of corporate networks and alternative media. We conclude that utopian myths about the Internet are negotiated with reality in complex ways and inspire political action and technological innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]