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The 1861 Version Of Text Messaging
from the had-its-own-shorthand dept
It's always interesting to see parallels in history to today's new technologies, and the folks over 160characters have a great column outlining all of the similarities between postcards in the latter half of the 19th century and SMS text messaging today. Both were faster, more efficient ways of communicating with people far away, often cheaper than other methods, and with only a small area to input your text. Also, with the rise of cameras, postcards added photos, making them a bit more like MMS.
Reader Comments
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Yea...
Yea, I think the icon with this one about sums it up. And I thought I had too much spare time.
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cliche
history repeating itself indeed
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Texting
Funny, I kind of likened text messaging in general to Morse Code. Both are quite annoying.
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Re: Texting
What's wrong with morse code?
Granted there is no reason to use it on a daily basis, but it's great for using in emergencies. What do you do if you are in a situation where you don't have a real radio setup and you have a serious emergency? You can relatively easily build a dipole antenna and hook it up so you can transmit morse code.
Nothing beats morse code when it comes to that. It's likely not something the average person will need to know for daily usage, but that ONE time is all it takes to justify knowing it.
SMS is not like Morse code. Frankly I disagree with this article. I don't think it's like postcards at all. I don't think there is anything that it parallels. The technology is perhaps aligned with the aims of postcards, but the cultural developments is what makes SMS what it is.
I find it mostly annoying, but with some good applications.
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History is just a repetitions
If you study the history outline... not in detail, you will see that history is just like a wheel.... what goes around comes around.
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Re: History is just a repetitions
i dont remeber exactly who first said it (feel free to let me know if any one knows the originator of this quote) but "those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it" may be this idea aplies to even the most mundane of things whether good, bad or otherwise...
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Re: History is just a repetitions
Ha ha, I hope you are kidding. Anyway this oft paraphrased idea is from George Santayana.
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Re: History is just a repetitions
You were either thinking of "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" which is a quote from George Santayana, or, you were thinking of "Those who do not study history are doomed to misquote it" which is a quote from me. cheers!
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Re: Re: History is just a repetitions
Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it. THis is the actual quote- better start studying history... go on...
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Re: History is just a repetitions
Santa Anna said that, said that, I do think...
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Re: History is just a repetitions
yeah. Americans are the next gen of Romans & Egyptians....
say what!?@*
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Re: History is just a repetitions
>Americans are the next gen of Romans & Egyptians.... < br>
...em,
nokia - finnish
erisccon - swedish
sony - jap
alcatel - french
motorola - jap
anybody know of any american telecoms equipment makers? (first person to say texas instruments gets a slap)
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It'll repeat few more times...
... 2043: "beam text messages from your brain to the brain of your friends! just think of it and it's sent! no more wasting time typing on tiny keyboards!"
... 2047: "new and improved! beam text AND multimedia content from your brain to the brain of your friends! just see or hear something and it's sent the moment you so desire!"
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Re: It'll repeat few more times...
AWASOME! XDXDXD
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Re: It'll repeat few more times...
Stop it, you're scaring me!
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No Subject Given
We are Romans indeed. Bring on the bread and the circus!
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New Romans
But y'all can keep the vomitorium.
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Re: No Subject Given
do we get to feed christians to lions too?
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Re: No Subject Given
Oh, THATS why we're holding those arabs at Gitmo.
Lions on back-order from Africa due to civil unrest.
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nope
that has nothing to do with anything. IMing is much more like a conversation (ie: phone) than emailing, which is more like a letter. However, postcards were/are just like letters, just smaller, and for lazy people. (I use em too though). However, just because you can draw a connection does not mean that history is repeating itself.
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I agree...
Too much free time indeed!
Well, now those smart people have proved something: People did actually communicate in a cheap, little way before SMS... WOW!
hmm... What would Nokia say about this?
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Re: I agree...
Think about this... Until about 150 years ago the fastest information could move was the speed of a horse.
John Quincy Adams (then President) missed his father's funeral (in Boston) because by the time he heard about the death, dad was already in the ground.
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hi im bill cosby
i don't think you wanna go there
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Always interesting to see the past repeat itself.
Time and time again. Maybe the Mediterranean Sea, this time what will it be. Glaciers melt the cards were dealt.
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Re: Always interesting to see the past repeat itse
We're out for a faster, gentler way to communicate.
MMS does have parallels with a postcard, except it gets there faster and it costs more than 15 cents.
And you'll read it and immediatatly delete it (throw it in the garbage) just the same.
I'm not sure how useful Morse code really is other than SOS ---...--- however. I might have that backwards, actually. The problem is that hardly anyone knows Morse code anyhow...bust out the GI Joe Walkie-Talkies so you can communicate with your friends in the treehouse and the pup-tent in the backyard.
"Those whom do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it" is one of the most intelligent statements I've ever heard. And so we have, we learned that postcards were lame, and so are MMS messages of your friend and his new lover on the beach in the Bahamas with a photo of some half-naked fat rich people splashing in the clear blue waters and a message that says "Wish you were here, the babes rock."
There is no point to the above paragraph at all. Sorry.
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Morse Code pwns SMS
SMS has nothing on Morse Code:
http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/05/16/3/
Still, I wouldn't want to use it.
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