Research Paper
History of Communication
Printing Press
What would you do if you went home or to work and you found that your computer was broken? People have become very dependent on their computers since the beginning of the Internet. Computers provide networks where people can find answers instantly, do their banking, buy or sell products, and keep track of old friends. Since the time of prehistoric man communication has been a motivating drive among people. Over the years, technology has developed to the point where people can talk to each other instantaneously. During the middle ages, people called scribes wrote books by hand. During the mid 1400's, a German creator Johannes Gutenberg, invented the printing press, a machine used to print books, newspapers and papers quicker. This invention had a gigantic impact on peoples' lives, because it made it cheaper and easier to make books and the cost of books dropped. Common people could finally pay for books and this encouraged them to learn to read. In the mid 1800's, the printing press was improved to work even faster. During the 1900's, offset printing was invented. It is still used today for making newspapers, published books etc. These days, most people can do their own printing due to home computers and printers called Ink-Jet Printers or Laser Printers (Woods, p6-13).
Telephone
In the late 1800's, when people wanted to share thoughts, news and emotions, they usually sent letters, and at that time, the postal service was slow. People could never get to the hospital on time. Friends who moved away might have no possibility to hear each other's voice again. Instant communication back then was just a dream. (Woods, p14-15). Before the telephone was invented, people would go to a place in the building and called telegraph agency and stood in line. They would tell the operator what to say and the operator would type in codes by tapping on a button. It traveled less than a second. Sending messages this way was expensive. In 1831, Michael Faraday, a British scientist, had a big role in discovering electromagnetic induction. In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell used Faraday's discovery to invent the telephone. In 1963, touchtone phones were invented. This invention had a huge impact on people's lives. People saved time and worked faster. Friends can phone each other. We could call and order pizza for instance, and most importantly, we could call 911 in an emergency (Woods, p6 15-21).
Radio
The Italian inventor, Guglielma Marconi, played a big role in inventing radio. Radio caused a big change in everyday life in 1920, when station KDKA in Pittsburgh, PA, began the first regular public radio broadcast. The first radios were big and heavy, almost the size of a kitchen stove. Inventors soon discovered ways to make smaller radios. As for radios that we use today, they are much smaller, more powerful and highly advanced. Radio sends electrical signals through the air. Inventors are finding new ways to uses radio waves such as wireless Internet, for instance (Woods, p22-29).
Television
A fourteen-year-old high school boy in Idaho had an idea for great invention: the television which sent voices, music and pictures. Video recording was invented in 1951, and closed caption, in 1980. In the average U.S. home, the TV is turned on more than seven hours a day. People spend more time watching TV than doing anything else. However, TVs do not only entertain people, TV is the main way many people learn about the rest of the world. TV has allowed millions to witness the first humans landing on the moon, and wars like Vietnam and Iraq, and 9/11 (Woods, p30-37). However, all of these past inventions don't compare to the start of the Internet.
Internet
The Internet is the world's biggest network. It connects millions of computers using cables, telephone lines, radio signals and satellite systems. (@@) People can connect to the Internet at school, businesses, government offices, research centers, homes, even phone devices (i.e. sidekick, blackberry etc). The Internet took off in 1989, when British scientist Tim Berners-Lee invented hypertext transfer portal (http) through the Internet. It is all linked, like the strands on a spider's web. That's where we get the name, World Wide Web. Now, with the World Wide Web, or web in short, we can check the news, weather, and sports. We can read articles, and even entire books. We can even use e-mails (electronic mail) which sends messages instantly rather than snail mail. Students use the Internet to get information for homework assignments. People can shop online on the Internet through e-commerce. People also use Internet to make airlines and train reservations, book hotel rooms, pay bills and much more. People can use email to communicate without leaving home (Woods, p38-44). The Internet has a very massive impact on our everyday lives, however, scientists worry that the Internet is isolating people from one another.
Before the Internet, people had more direct contact with other; they talked to each other, laughed, hugged, smiled and had a good time. Now, people punch keyboards and click on their mouse to communicate. Some experts think that e-mail, chat rooms, instant messaging and information at your fingertips has created a world of lonely people "glued" to computer monitors. (Woods, p45)
Electronic Mail (E-Mail)/Search Engine
Google and Yahoo!
The Internet gives people easier and quicker ways to access information with search engines such as Google and Yahoo!. Google, co-founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, two PhD students at Stanford University, is the most popular search engine on the internet today followed by Yahoo!. Search engines give us many great ways to find information for research, allows us to order items, and even connects us with old and new friends. Basically, search engines help you to find what you are looking for in an instant with millions of results rather than finding it yourself through encyclopedias, books, journals, etc. (Google)
Social Network
Myspace and Facebook
In one of the Internet aspects, Social network has also grown in popularity in recent years. MySpace started the trend, followed by Facebook, the second largest social network. Primarily focused on high school to college students, Facebook was founded by former Harvard student, Mark Zuckerberg, as a hobby project. Within months it spread from college to college. Zuckerberg and Moskovitz dropped out of Harvard to run Facebook full time. Facebook is now the seventh most trafficked site in the US. In 2005, 90% of students surveyed use either Facebook or MySpace. These networks are the most "in" things after iPod and beer among undergraduate students. (@@) There are both pros and cons when using these networks. Some of the positive results of using Facebook or MySpace are that people are able to keep in touch with friends both old and new, and can also find lost friends. People use these sites for finding love and rebuilding relationships. Families and friends can post photos and comments instantly.
There are downsides to using these sites, especially amongst teenagers. Teens find themselves "glued" to the monitor, chatting with "friends" for hours on end. This can cause academic failure because homework and studying is ignored or going on simultaneously (multi-tasking). Kids choose the computer over outdoor, physical activities and/or socializing face to face with peers. A dangerous issue is online predators. These are people who lie about their identity, their age, etc. to befriend unsuspecting, young, innocent teens or adults. As documented on the TV show, "Dateline-To Catch A Predator", this happens more often than people would like to believe. "MySpace is sort of a cyber diary, yearbook and social club. It's free, easy to join, and easy to message other members. People are supposed to be at least fourteen to sign up but younger kids use it. Kids design their own MySpace page and most chat back and forth about school, sports, gossip etc. What many of them don't realize is that millions of people have access to the pictures and personal information they post. Police say in some cases sexual predators are using that information to find kids. One Internet safety expert said for a pedophile, it can be "one stop shopping by catalogue." (Stafford)
Electronic Commerce (E-commerce)
EBay
Another way the internet has impacted our everyday life is through electronic-commerce, also known as e-commerce. E-commerce is the buying and selling of goods over electronic systems such as the Internet or other computer networks. The amount of trade or buying and selling through e-commerce has grown enormously since the spread of the Internet. People can trade or buy and sell goods through the internet instantly. Most of the time, the products tend to be cheaper than the actual prices in stores. In addition, e-commerce makes it easier for senior citizens, the handicapped, and people who can't leave their homes for any reason, to purchase products online. People can also earn money from home by selling their goods over the internet. One of the most popular online auction sites is EBay. "There aren't many sites on the Internet that can claim the success that eBay has enjoyed. The company began in the home of Pierre Omidyar is 1995 and is now a leader in Internet revenue. This company began as something like an online garage sale in 1995 and has enjoyed steady growth over the years. Items on eBay are listed by categories and anyone with an eBay account can bid on the item of their choice. You can find just about anything you can possibly imagine on eBay, including cars, real estate, collectibles, concert tickets, CDs, clothing, DVDs, and artwork. Rare items can sell at very high prices. Things such as Elvis Presley's ashtray or rare baseball trading cards go for top dollar." When you list an item for auction on eBay it can be seen by millions of people all over the world." (Mullen).
There are negative aspects of using e-commerce. There are many scammers online who try to rip off others. One example is a teenager who advertised a PlayStation box for two hundred dollars and actually sold the customer the empty cardboard box. The buyer could not object to the seller because the product had been described as a "box". Although most sites are secured, there is still a chance that a customer's credit card information could be stolen. A stolen credit card could then be used when buying merchandise. For example, Dana Janik, owner of an online site called Interpretations, lost over $400.00 when a customer ordered forty t-shirts to be delivered to Nigeria. Although she checked to see if the credit card was valid, it wasn't until a few months later when the credit card company notified her to tell her that that customer's credit card had been stolen. Ms. Janik lost her money and her products with no way to get either returned. (Janik)
Finally ...
In conclusion, the Internet has had a huge impact on our lives. With digital text on the computer, life has become easier. With digital text, we can develop websites which becomes hypertext, and on the web, we can access electronic mail, videos, and maps of the world where we can zoom in and out, social networks, e-commerce, pictures and much more. This creates better communication when computers share information with other computers, and that is the definition of the Internet. This instant access to information and the ability to communicate with anyone, anywhere in the world at anytime has impacted the way we live our lives and will continue to do so for years to come.