The 1861 Version Of Text Messaging

from the had-its-own-shorthand dept

It's always interesting to see parallels in history to today's new technologies, and the folks over 160characters have a great column outlining all of the similarities between postcards in the latter half of the 19th century and SMS text messaging today. Both were faster, more efficient ways of communicating with people far away, often cheaper than other methods, and with only a small area to input your text. Also, with the rise of cameras, postcards added photos, making them a bit more like MMS.
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
    Max Messinger, 24 Feb 2006 @ 8:25pm

    Yea...

    Yea, I think the icon with this one about sums it up. And I thought I had too much spare time.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    discojohnson, 24 Feb 2006 @ 8:34pm

    cliche

    history repeating itself indeed

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Jimbo, 24 Feb 2006 @ 9:09pm

    Texting

    Funny, I kind of likened text messaging in general to Morse Code. Both are quite annoying.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 25 Feb 2006 @ 12:15pm

      Re: Texting

      What's wrong with morse code?

      Granted there is no reason to use it on a daily basis, but it's great for using in emergencies. What do you do if you are in a situation where you don't have a real radio setup and you have a serious emergency? You can relatively easily build a dipole antenna and hook it up so you can transmit morse code.

      Nothing beats morse code when it comes to that. It's likely not something the average person will need to know for daily usage, but that ONE time is all it takes to justify knowing it.

      SMS is not like Morse code. Frankly I disagree with this article. I don't think it's like postcards at all. I don't think there is anything that it parallels. The technology is perhaps aligned with the aims of postcards, but the cultural developments is what makes SMS what it is.

      I find it mostly annoying, but with some good applications.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Syah Putera, 24 Feb 2006 @ 10:10pm

    History is just a repetitions

    If you study the history outline... not in detail, you will see that history is just like a wheel.... what goes around comes around.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      dan, 25 Feb 2006 @ 12:57am

      Re: History is just a repetitions

      i dont remeber exactly who first said it (feel free to let me know if any one knows the originator of this quote) but "those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it" may be this idea aplies to even the most mundane of things whether good, bad or otherwise...

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        nil, 25 Feb 2006 @ 1:10pm

        Re: History is just a repetitions

        Ha ha, I hope you are kidding. Anyway this oft paraphrased idea is from George Santayana.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        jp, 26 Feb 2006 @ 5:18pm

        Re: History is just a repetitions

        You were either thinking of "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" which is a quote from George Santayana, or, you were thinking of "Those who do not study history are doomed to misquote it" which is a quote from me. cheers!

        link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2006 @ 6:19am

          Re: Re: History is just a repetitions

          Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it. THis is the actual quote- better start studying history... go on...

          link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Rugburn Music, 27 Feb 2006 @ 12:20pm

        Re: History is just a repetitions

        Santa Anna said that, said that, I do think...

        link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 25 Feb 2006 @ 1:28am

      Re: History is just a repetitions

      yeah. Americans are the next gen of Romans & Egyptians....

      say what!?@*

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Boo, 27 Feb 2006 @ 12:15am

        Re: History is just a repetitions


        >Americans are the next gen of Romans & Egyptians.... < br>
        ...em,
        nokia - finnish
        erisccon - swedish
        sony - jap
        alcatel - french
        motorola - jap

        anybody know of any american telecoms equipment makers? (first person to say texas instruments gets a slap)

        link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    suv4x4, 25 Feb 2006 @ 1:27am

    It'll repeat few more times...

    ... 2043: "beam text messages from your brain to the brain of your friends! just think of it and it's sent! no more wasting time typing on tiny keyboards!"

    ... 2047: "new and improved! beam text AND multimedia content from your brain to the brain of your friends! just see or hear something and it's sent the moment you so desire!"

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    WhoTheHellCaresWhatMyNameIs, 25 Feb 2006 @ 8:41am

    No Subject Given

    We are Romans indeed. Bring on the bread and the circus!

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Paul Vogel, 25 Feb 2006 @ 10:42am

      New Romans

      But y'all can keep the vomitorium.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 26 Feb 2006 @ 11:59am

      Re: No Subject Given

      do we get to feed christians to lions too?

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 26 Feb 2006 @ 3:52pm

        Re: No Subject Given

        Oh, THATS why we're holding those arabs at Gitmo.

        Lions on back-order from Africa due to civil unrest.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    blah, 25 Feb 2006 @ 11:06am

    nope

    that has nothing to do with anything. IMing is much more like a conversation (ie: phone) than emailing, which is more like a letter. However, postcards were/are just like letters, just smaller, and for lazy people. (I use em too though). However, just because you can draw a connection does not mean that history is repeating itself.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Rosamunda, 25 Feb 2006 @ 1:30pm

    I agree...

    Too much free time indeed!
    Well, now those smart people have proved something: People did actually communicate in a cheap, little way before SMS... WOW!


    hmm... What would Nokia say about this?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Lew, 25 Feb 2006 @ 1:49pm

      Re: I agree...

      Think about this... Until about 150 years ago the fastest information could move was the speed of a horse.
      John Quincy Adams (then President) missed his father's funeral (in Boston) because by the time he heard about the death, dad was already in the ground.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    blapblapblap, 25 Feb 2006 @ 3:04pm

    hi im bill cosby

    i don't think you wanna go there

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Andrew Strasser, 25 Feb 2006 @ 3:20pm

    Always interesting to see the past repeat itself.

    Time and time again. Maybe the Mediterranean Sea, this time what will it be. Glaciers melt the cards were dealt.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Professor HighBrow, 25 Feb 2006 @ 8:38pm

      Re: Always interesting to see the past repeat itse

      We're out for a faster, gentler way to communicate.
      MMS does have parallels with a postcard, except it gets there faster and it costs more than 15 cents.
      And you'll read it and immediatatly delete it (throw it in the garbage) just the same.

      I'm not sure how useful Morse code really is other than SOS ---...--- however. I might have that backwards, actually. The problem is that hardly anyone knows Morse code anyhow...bust out the GI Joe Walkie-Talkies so you can communicate with your friends in the treehouse and the pup-tent in the backyard.

      "Those whom do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it" is one of the most intelligent statements I've ever heard. And so we have, we learned that postcards were lame, and so are MMS messages of your friend and his new lover on the beach in the Bahamas with a photo of some half-naked fat rich people splashing in the clear blue waters and a message that says "Wish you were here, the babes rock."

      There is no point to the above paragraph at all. Sorry.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    No-Code Tech, 26 Feb 2006 @ 5:31am

    Morse Code pwns SMS

    SMS has nothing on Morse Code:
    http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/05/16/3/
    Still, I wouldn't want to use it.

    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.