10 Communication Inventions That Changed the World Forever

Morse’s Telegraph, 1837

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An Optical Telegraph in Germany.

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The telegraph was called “the great annihilator of time and space” in that it changed society itself through transportation in the railroads, the way war was conducted, the speed of communication between buyers and sellers and trans-Atlantic communication.

Most of all, the telegraph was pivotal in the formation of news services and agencies.

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Photography

The invention of the camera was first evident in the photographs taken during the Civil War. Suddenly war was a horror in the visual sense that was never understood even in the most graphic written descriptions. Photojournalism where “a picture says a thousand words” became popular as a picture could be internalized faster than the written words.

For the first time historical information could now be journalized in pictures and images.

President Lincoln’s Inauguration, 1861

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Civil War Photo, 1862 – Bull Run area

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Cinema

The technology of the camera led to moving pictures and the video capabilities that we have today. Movie theaters and “nickelodeons” became big hits. By 1910, there were more than 10,000 such movie houses in America. Soon filmmakers began to see the power in producing films and the potential for a huge business.

A Nickelodeon Movie Theater in Canada, 1910

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The Radio

Advances in wire telephony and the consequences of the war allowed radio to be brought into many homes worldwide. The radio was a source of entertainment as well as news for a multitude of families. The radio became the major communication source for people to receive their news.

Pearl Harbor Radio Address, 1941

Young girl listening to the family radio.

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The Television

Once again the technological advancements of war paved the way for television in the 1950’s. The television in the 1950’s and 1960’s was the most wanted appliance. About 10 million Americans had a television set in the 1950’s. It soon became a huge consumer of time. People watched their news each evening as well as their various television shows. The entertainment industry now branched off from films into television. Television became a massive form of communication and generated social changes. We watched the Vietnam War and the assassination of John F. Kennedy on our televisions.

Elvis Presley, Milton Berle Show, 1956

Assassination of John F. Kennedy, 1963

Footage of Vietnam war

Live televised Motorcade of John K. Kennedy moments before he was killed, 1963

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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “I Have a Dream” speech.

Moon landing, 1969

Television in Germany, 1959

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The Computer and Internet

The digital revolution allowed computers to instantly relay information to all parts of the world. In the blink of an eye, through computers and the Internet mass communications was changed forever by bringing the people of the world together.

Newspapers and magazines are now online, as well as on paper. Music-sharing sites are online for distribution both legally and illegally. Businesses can be anywhere whether in a downtown office or in a bedroom. You can buy and sell anything online. You can pay your bills and do your banking online. You can meet people in chat areas and have online relationships. Everyone has a website and politics has invaded the Internet as well. In 2004 in the United States, 1 dollar of every eight dollars was spent online. Emailing is now more popular than “snail mail.”

Al Gore, the Internet’s creator?

Radio Shack home computer, 1970

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A microprocessor.

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Wireless Technology

Wireless portable media has overtaken our society in the presence of wireless laptops, cell phones and PDAs. Everywhere we look in public places we see the huge impact of our wireless connections. It is difficult to remember life without a cell phone or a wireless connection. I often wish I had stock in a cell phone company as I scan my own monthly bill. But with the speed of technology everything we buy today will only be more advanced tomorrow. Technology quickly becomes obsolete as something new is introduced.

Apple PowerBook, 2006

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Apple iPhone

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Apple iPods

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I wonder what technology will look like in the next 100 or even 1000 years. I can’t even begin to imagine the ten greatest communications inventions of the next millennium!