So all of modern communication technology came from rubbing amber and a Leydon Jar? Amazing. Also amazing that experiments began in the mid 1600's but a working product didn't come into fruition until the mid 1800's with much skeptism. It seems that technology took longer "to create" at the beginning and since then has become produced at a quicker pace. According to Winston, the telegraph is monumental because so many people were working on inventing the same product simultaneously.
And after that the Supervening Social Necessity became so apparent for all these products to flow. For both Bell and Gray to file for a patent on the same day in 1876 for an electronic speaking phone I think is unbelieveable. It also sets the scene for what is going on today with Skype, that all the industries are on their toes figuring out what to develope next.
I guess it all makes sense looking back through history how technology evolved and that social need is pushing technology forward.
Only today social need is intercepted with marketing and the critical mass doesn't know what they need because they are being told what they need.
posted by Andrea Mydlarz Zeller @ 12:23 PM
2 Comments:
I agree that advances in technology are sometimes pushed by social necessity, unfortunately, the tech revolution has left many behind in its rapid movement. This phenomena was coined "digital divide" in the late 90's and continues today. One of the most compelling reasons to continue using aging technologies are their accessibility. Typically, a phone is a phone--a keypad ergonomically designed around a speaker and microphone; whereas the computer is not something easily cradled on the shoulder while munching popcorn and chatting with your best friend about the latest episode of Desperate Housewives. Another plus to the technology is its near 100% accuracy in connecting users.
For technology to be accepted and adopted by the masses, it must be something that works foolproof with a minimum of troubleshooting and tech support. When was the last time any of us called the telephone company to ask them how to reconfigure our telephone?
Andrea: I really liked your last comment, "Only today social need is intercepted with marketing and the critical mass doesn't know what they need because they are being told what they need."
I thought about that same issue while I was throughout most of our readings this week. I felt like this very important piece was missing - part of our new age, our new time, our new media is "marketing" and no generation has ever been marketed to the way that we and the generations after us have. There doesn't seem to be any accounting for this (yet) in our readings.
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