Can the activists tools of the 50's still serve us today?

I often like to visit the King Center, pay my respects to Dr. King, sit by the reflecting pool and... reflect. I wonder how it must have been for Dr. King to be a catalyst for societal change against such great odds. Could that 50's activism really work today? Oh sure, we still march, protest and demonstrate, but it's almost like the shock value of mobilizing large groups is gone. The media does a quick story on it and society yawns. That's the US story, but we have seen and are still seeing in places like the Middle East that people power can force change. What about economic boycotts? We just don't have that "we're all in this together" attitude to pull one off effectively. And let's face it with the economy in such turmoil, do we really have the stomach to shut down any business/industry sector right now? I'm just thinking out loud here, but different times usually require different tools or at least modification of the old ones. We've got technology and communication tools that Dr. King couldn't have imagined. Let's figure out how to apply them to and solve the growing wealth and education gap in America. - RJ4US