What's Next? The Pony Express Stops Delivering The Mail?

from the end-of-an-era-STOP dept

A few companies are really taking the new year mantra "out with the old, in with the new" mantra to heart. A few weeks after Nikon and Konica announcemed that they were getting out of the film camera business, Western Union annnounced Friday that it would no longer offer telegrams. Telegram use drastically declined after long distance telephones became more affordable, and email and the web delivered the final blow (the only telegrams anyone sees nowadays are in the movies). Of course, there is some sense of nostalgic remorse as each one of these technologies gets retired. Will emails ever be sold on eBay as collectors items? Most likely not. And there certainly never was a problem with telegram spam. Ahh, the good ol' days. Then again, you can't really be nostalgic for something that few (if any) of us have actually used -- I mean, it's almost been a week since we've been without telegrams, and nobody seemed to notice.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    Tyshaun, 1 Feb 2006 @ 3:55pm

    The last one...

    I wonder what the last telegram they sent was? That would probably be worth some money.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Frank, 1 Feb 2006 @ 5:22pm

    what will go next

    I predict the USPS will stop delivering mail and go exclusivly into the Stamp and Spam markets

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      aNonMooseCowherd, 1 Feb 2006 @ 5:47pm

      Re: what will go next

      I predict Microsoft will outsource all their software development and switch to doing something that they're actually good at, such as finding new and more imaginative ways to subvert antitrust laws.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    eeyore, 2 Feb 2006 @ 5:51am

    No Subject Given

    My mother-in-law lives on a tiny island in the Philippines with no running water or electricity but has cell phone service because of the antenna on top of the mountain on a nearby island. As a result I can send her a text message for a quarter and get a response within several minutes. So why on earth would anybody even need a telegram anymore?

    OTOH we do use Western Union to send them money every few weeks. Western Union was smart to change their business model twenty years or so ago to focus on money transfers.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 2 Feb 2006 @ 7:28am

      Re: No Subject Given

      not trying to be an ahole or anything, but how is your mother-in-law charge her cellphone if there is no electricity

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Mainer, 2 Feb 2006 @ 8:13am

        Re: No Subject Given

        Lol

        link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 2 Feb 2006 @ 10:46am

        Re: No Subject Given

        Solar power, baby! Either that or it's one of those elusive hand-cranked powered cell phones that are THE item to have in third-world countries.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      No electricity, 2 Feb 2006 @ 8:18am

      Re: No Subject Given

      How the hell does she keep her cell phone charged?

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Steve, 2 Feb 2006 @ 12:52pm

        Wind-Up Mobile Phone Charger

        http://www.greenshop.co.uk

        Solio Solar Charger For iPod & Cell Phone

        Recharge your iPod virtually anywhere under the sun. The coolest most portable solar charger around - and the only one with the right connector and enough power to charge your iPod.

        Solio®, a revolutionary new product from Better Energy Systems, is the most powerful and only rechargeable battery system with its own integrated solar-blade technology on the market. Simply charge your Solio® in direct sunlight or from your mains supply for added battery life!

        Combining power with style, and compatible with all 3G and 4G iPod mini models, a full Solio® delivers enough charge to extend your play time up to 9 hours, or fully charge your iPod mini with enough power left over to top up your mobile phone!

        Whether you are on a deserted island with no power socket, or on the move and can't charge your iPod, Solio® is the perfect solution.

        Solio® also charges a wide range of other products such as mobile phones, PDAs, GPS, Gameboy® and other portable electronic devices. (requires additional connector kits - coming soon)

        Never let your iPod power go down again, Plug into the Sun®!

        Price: £49.99





        Wind-Up Mobile Phone Charger


        The Porta-Charge Wind-Up Charger requires no batteries or mains power supply. Simply plug into your phone and turn the handle to charge your phone battery. Comes with adaptors for all the phones listed below.
        Depending on the phone 3 minutes of winding will give you 30 to 60 minutes standby or 2 to 8 minutes of talk time. Comes in white only. Compatible with:

        * Nokia
        3210/3310/3330/5210/8210

        * Ericsson
        K700
        T20/T28/T29/T31/T39/T65/T68/T68i/T310/T610/T630
        R310/R320/R380/R520M
        A2618S
        P800/P900
        Z600

        * Motorola
        StarTac
        CD928/CD930
        V2088/V3688/V3690/V8088
        V60/V66/V70
        A6188
        L708/L2000/LF2000

        * Samsung
        A300/A800
        Q200
        E700

        * Siemens
        C25/C2588/C35/C35i
        M35
        A35/A36/A40
        S25/S35/S45/S45i


        Price: £8.95

        link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Devboy00, 2 Feb 2006 @ 7:29pm

      The last sentence says it all.

      Something that hasn't been emphasized is that Western Union CHANGED THEIR BUSINESS MODEL. They *had* to in response to telephones and email. Nobody got successfully sued to preserve telegrams and rid the world of the horrors of telephony, did they? Eeyore, you have struck a gold mine of fodder for the opponents of dis-innovation by legistlation.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Steve George, 22 May 2006 @ 9:47am

    Behind a PC

    whats the new motorola music phone called? Steve

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Jerry, 26 Jul 2006 @ 11:09am

    Final Western Union telegram

    I can only hope that Dennis does NOT write for a living, since he is surely not good at it.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Oliver Wendelll Despentes The Third, 8 Apr 2007 @ 8:46pm

    Stop the World I Want To Get Off (stop)

    Something about holding the crackling yellow paper from long ago, opening night on Broadway, saying "Congratulations!"...a memory lingers in the cells of a physically held object...will email ever evoke the slightest nostalgia? Will there even be future objects that can evoke any other emotion other than "it's dated, it's easily disposable and it's allready obsolete!"

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.