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The Communication Revolutions

Human communication was changed forever on the day in 1876 when Alexander Graham made a fortuitous mistake and caused his cry, "Watson, come here; I want you!" to be electronically transmitted to his assistant in an adjoining room. The world of communications has undergone not just one, but two comparable paradigm shifts since that time. The first being the invention and widespread popularity of the traditional telephone and the other is the invention and adoption of the cell phone.

The traditional telephone revolutionized the way people talk to each other by enabling immediate and synchronous interaction. The telegraph, the leading method of contact at that time was swift, but required a message to be composed, typed, transmitted, printed and read. A reply would need to go through the same steps. With the invention of the telephone, people could talk to each other as they would face-to-face; instantaneously. While a defining moment in communication, the traditional telephone required its users to stand next to their telephones, or remain within earshot when expecting a call. It needed the invention of the cell phone to spark the next great advancement. The cell phone, although seemingly a natural progression to the traditional telephone, required great innovation and investment. It allowed its users to be anywhere that received a phone signal. Over the years, as technology improved, it has meant that people can remain in touch no matter where in the world they are. With a cell phone, we are all connected.

Both systems suffered from rather paradoxical beginnings. A user with a traditional telephone could only speak to someone who also had a telephone. Similarly, the cell phone's aims to connect everyone, everywhere, could only work if everyone, everywhere owned a cell phone. However, both these technologies were extremely expensive when first unveiled to the world. It was the business world that drove adoption of these communication tools. With the traditional telephones, businesses could instantly interact with other businesses across the United States. This increase in communication speed often meant a vital edge over the competition. Similarly, cell phones enabled employees to talk to their offices, and vice versa, no matter where they were. With Big Business subsidizing the initially steep costs of these inventions, they eventually became cheap enough for the average consumer. This increased adoption drove further sales, which

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