The great Martin Luther King, Jr., knew that the word-of-mouth approach is powerful when trying to initiate change in society. However, social media is making that approach seem out of date.

Technology and social networks allow people to create and spread a message quickly. WOM is far too slow in comparison. Rather than congregating at bar stools and in parks, people communicate online through chat rooms, social media platforms and phones. Thus, it is no longer word-of-mouth that present day activists and protestors rely on; instead it is word-of-technology.

Most recently, the London riots are a relevant example where social media played a huge role in rallying folks together, for both the good or bad. Through these online social platforms people were inspired to act. This kind of use gives social media networks on Twitter and Facebook incredible social sustainability and value.

Activism and protests in the future will rely on social media. It's in illustrations like the rioting in the UK that the actions of Martin Luther King, Jr. can inspire and influence activists and protesters to rethink their social media campaigns. Here's what MLK can teach us:

Throw Away the Old Model

Rather than using violence as the driving force for his civil rights movement, Martin Luther King, Jr. committed to doing things differently. As Facebook and Twitter allow people to be more creative and innovative with change-focused tactics and campaigns, social media will continue to foster alternative ideas to the ways in which activists and protestors brand and promote their causes

Be a Better Activist, Not the Next Social Media Expert

At the root of it all, Dr. King did not study how to be a better public speaker (though he was naturally a fantastic speaker). Instead, he exerted his time and energy in educating himself on the cause he was fighting for. This valuable lesson can be translated directly to today's digital activism. Many think that it is of foremost importance to exhaust all efforts in learning how to leverage social media to gain supporters. While that may be helpful, a foundation of knowledge about the supporting cause is what actually contains the most power.

WWGD?-What Would Gandhi Do?

Mohandas (or Mahatma) Gandhi was Martin Luther King's inspiration and teacher. Through his example, the lesson is that silence, time and thought command a lot of attention. Social media can be used as a framework to reinforce this message.

What's more, social media is not the root cause of such disgraceful displays of behavior as the London riots. Londoners did use networking forums to capture media attention and inform like-minded protestors, but it's not the fault of technology that the event happened.

Understand the Consequences

Just as Dr. King Jr. was jailed for his protests, many involved in the London riots have reached a similar fate. Even more so today, digital activism creates a higher level of risk for those pursuing a controversial cause and, therefore, those risks and consequences need to be evaluated well before using social media as a vessel for change and recruitment.