Build For Tomorrow The Scandalous Internet of the 1800s
Mar 7, 2019
Tom Standage, Editor at The Economist and author of The Victorian Internet, sheds light on the intriguing parallels between the 1800s telegraph and today's digital landscape. He discusses how the telegraph sparked fears about privacy, misinformation, and the moral implications of fast communication, echoing modern concerns about social media. Standage highlights skepticism from figures like Thoreau, who worried about the erosion of meaningful interactions. The conversation challenges us to consider how technology reflects human nature and whether our historical fears were warranted.
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William Dodge's Telegraph Complaint
- William Dodge voiced early frustrations with the telegraph saying businessmen must always be "on the jump."
- He felt constant telegram updates made business life more stressful, much like today's complaints about work emails and Slack.
Telegraph Overload Echoes Today
- The telegraph sparked early debates about the overload of trivial information, much like social media today.
- Henry David Thoreau mocked the telegraph for enabling communication where "Maine and Texas may have nothing important to communicate."
Morse's Telegraph Triumph Race
- Morse proved his telegraph by beating a train with news from a political convention in 1844.
- The telegram announcing the nominees arrived in Washington over an hour before the train carrying the news.
