Week 1 : “In your opinion what media discovery or invention has made the greatest impact on society today?”

Week 1 Journal Entry

“In your opinion what media discovery or invention has made the greatest impact on society today?”

I feel that the ability to store and transfer information is what made us advance the way we have today. So, we owe a lot to the evolution of the internet and the computer. Despite the two being two entirely different things, they go hand in hand together when speaking about a media discovery with the greatest impact on society.

It began in the 1960s, when the ARPANET, the first packet-switching network created by the US Department of Defences Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) became fully operational. ARPA was at first, a source funding for computer development. A decade later, ARPA became the openly networked Internet of the modern era. In 1970, the Alohanet, the first radio network that made use of random packet transmission was launched in the University of Hawaii. 2 years later, the first public demonstration of an e-mail was exhibited and catalysed a large interest in developing network technology. In 1978, the Apple ll was launched, it being the first mass-marketed personal computer.

In 1990, a lot of development was made. Amazon.com was launched as an online bookstore and Microsoft Windows 95 was launched with Bill Gates in the lead. Yahoo, e-Bay, the Internet Explorer web browser by Microsoft was also all launched in that year. And the rest is history.

With the internet, mass media, digital media, social media and new media came to life. A new era of communication came to be. No longer did people use traditional tools like letters or the printing press. There are no restrictions in terms of “delivery of information beyond time and space”, the source of information is unlimited, as well as the ability to focus on specific group of people. Through the “digitalisation and electrification” of the message, the Internet is faster in the way it distributes the information. Interactivity is also an opportunity given by the internet to its users. Social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and online forums gave people the chance to voice out their opinion and create discussions. With the access of new dimensions of information, users are able to create their own media. Youtube became a place for people to create their own content and their identify themselves in this huge world.

It is undeniable that a dramatic shift in advancement for humanity came from the past 30 to 50 years, all thanks to the internet. Information now became something free and accessible to people all over the world.