The Communications Revolution
Lesson 1:3
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We've presented a few examples of how media and the internet have completely changed the perception of news and what is and what is not important. In both examples, the internet helped to spread a hoax like wildfire, and by the time that evidence was presented that refuted the hoax, the idea was set in some people's minds -- which brings us to our next big lesson:
In the age of Social Media, we are all publishers and broadcasters, with the attendant obligations and powers.
In the age of Social Media, we are all publishers and broadcasters, with the attendant obligations and powers.
We've seen this play out again and again, where what would once be known as only small rumors, can quickly spread and influence many without much, if any, evidence. What we hope to do with this course is to equip you with the tools you'll need to discern between information that is and is not reliable.
The Information Revolution - Starring The 'Bergs
The Information Revolution - Starring The 'Bergs
Now we’re going to look at the context that surrounds the social media revolution.
We start with these two:
....we like to call them the two 'bergs.
How are they related?
They were both entrepreneurs, and their inventions both changed the world that they lived in.
Gutenberg was an entrepreneur who changed the world by inventing moveable type and the printing press, making books easy to make and cheap to buy. In trying to cash in on the growth of the Catholic Church, he ironically, helped launch the Protestant Reformation, which shook it to its core.
Zuckerberg was a computer programmer who changed the world by making self-expression into the top social and entertainment activity of more than 2 Billion people globally. Legend has it that he started out Facebook in trying to find a date, and ironically, created one of the great fortunes of our time.
Speed as a Catalyst for Change
Speed as a Catalyst for Change
Coming back to Gutenberg's time, another example shows how his invention changed the world.
The explorer Leif Ericson was the first European to set foot on part of the land that is now North America around the year 1000.
Christopher Columbus wandered in a half-millennium later in 1492.
So how come Columbus get the credit? One of the reasons -- his discovery came just 23 years after invention and popularization of the printing press. With it, he could spread word faster and did. His travel book was reprinted across Europe, providing a more accessible version of the story of his voyage.
Erickson didn’t get credit until archaeologists confirmed legends that had previously dismissed as drunken braggadocio.
Now this gets us into a bigger idea,
The SPEED of the dissemination of an idea or a discovery is what really spawned each stage of the communication revolution.
The SPEED of the dissemination of an idea or a discovery is what really spawned each stage of the communication revolution.
Back in Gutenberg's time, It took a scribe, typically a monk, a year to create a bible, using a quill and ink-pot.
By the early 1450's however, Gutenberg, a silversmith, started casting standardized mass-produced, moveable letters, or type, which could be easily rearranged for re-use. He then adapted a wine press with a screw gear to firmly press paper down on the inked letters, and exponentially sped up the process.
By 1455 he had started printing his first bibles, and printed about 180 bibles his first year.
With experience, a printer could soon produce 50 books per week.
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