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Telegraph
The telegraph revolutionized long-distance communication. Rather than taking weeks for news to be delivered by horse-and-carriage mail carts, news could be exchanged between telegraph stations almost instantly through Morse code. It laid the groundwork that led to later innovations and aided American expansion.
History.com Editors. (2009, November 9). Morse code & the telegraph. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/topics/inventions/telegraph -
Transatlantic Cable
Laid across the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, the transatlantic cable provided a link between the United States and the United Kingdom. Before the cable, communication between the countries took place only by ship, but now communication was instantaneous. Additional cables were laid over time and allowed direct communication between all continents.
Geere, D. (2017, October 4). How the first cable was laid across the Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.wired.co.uk/article/transatlantic-cables -
Telephone
The telephone was the first device in history that enabled people to talk directly across large distances. It became very useful for businesses, government, and households. Once the public switched telephone network was created, it provided the backbone for the internet.
Elon University School of Communications. (n.d.). 1870s-1940s: Telephone. Retrieved from https://www.elon.edu/e-web/predictions/150/1870.xhtml -
PLATO
Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operations was the first computer-assisted learning system in wide use. It relied on a mixture of mainframes, terminals, phone lines, and programming tools that inspired many modern concepts like message boards, online testing, e-mail, instant messages, etc.
Smith, E. (2017, November 13). The greatest computer network you've never heard of. Retrieved from https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/pa3vvg/the-greatest-computer network-youve-never-heard-of -
ARPANET
Developed by the United States Department of Defense, the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network built a network of four computers running on different operating systems. The computers were connected using satellite links and relied on packet-switching and TCP/ICP protocol. These became the technological foundations for internet communications.
Engel, K. (2019, July 15). How the internet was born: ARPANET and beyond. Retrieved from https://www.whoishostingthis.com/blog/2014/11/11/arpanet/ -
Bulletin Board System
Bulletin Board Systems were the first machines that allowed people to perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging messages with each other. They were the direct precursor to the modern form of the World Wide Web and social networks.
Today’s Engineer. (2019, April 1). Bulletin board systems. Retrieved from https://ethw.org/Bulletin_Board_Systems -
IBM PC
The IBM Personal Computer may not have been the first PC, but it set the worldwide personal computing standard for industry. It was small, lightweight, and easy to use; it was for businessmen and regular people alike.
IBM. (n.d.). The birth of the IBM PC. Retrieved from https://www.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/pc25/pc25_birth.html -
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is an information system where web resources are identified by Uniform Resource Locators and accessible over the Internet. The resources are accessed over a web browser and lead to the development of the Information Age where the Internet is the primary tool for communication.
Mortillaro, N. (2016, August 23). The world wide web turns 25: How it changed everything. Retrieved from https://globalnews.ca/news/2897780/the-world-wide-web-turns-25-how it-changed-everything/ -
JPEG
JPEG is a method of lossy compression for digital images. It is responsible for the proliferation of digital images and photos across the Internet and social media.
Caplan, P. (2013, September 24). What is a JPEG: The invisible object you see every day. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/09/what-is-a-jpeg the-invisible-object-you-see-every-day/279954/ -
GeoCities
GeoCities was a web hosting service that allowed people to publish their own web pages on the World Wide Web for free. Pages built to feature different subjects formed their own virtual communities. This set the groundwork for future social networking sites.
Gagne, K. (2009, October 23). Yahoo GeoCities closes on Oct. 26. Retrieved from https://www.computerworld.com/article/2468045/yahoo-geocities-closes-on-oct--26.html -
SixDegrees
SixDegrees was widely considered to be the first social network service that attempted to identify and map a set of real relationships between real people using their real names. It was the first social networking site in the format now seen today.
The Economic Times. (2012, May 19). Beyond Facebook: A look at social network history. Retrieved from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/corporate-industry/beyond facebook-a-look-at-social-network-history/sixdegrees/slideshow/13296909.cms -
Mobile App
A mobile app is a software application designed to run on a mobile device. An app is usually smaller in scope than a website, offers more interactivity, and presents information in an intuitive format. Social media is one of the most popular fields of mobile app development.
Viswanathan, P. (2019, May 28). What's a mobile app? Retrieved from https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-a-mobile-application-2373354
