Communication

Communication is a tool with which we exercise our influence on others, bring out changes in our and others attitudes, motivate the people around us and establish and maintain relationships with them. Communication makes a major part of our active life and is a social activity. This social activity is pursued verbally through speech, reading and writing or non-verbally through body language. Communication is the first instrument that humans used in their process to sociali e, interact with others and can be defined as the process of sending information about our though, opinions, feelings to another person . !hy we communicate" !e communicate to know each other, to find out about others emotions, to change information, to convince others to understand our point of view and build relations. #nterpersonal communication is the most important form of communication and is the most $umans have developed many different ways of communicating with each other such as using words, movements of their face and body, and writing. There are lots of different reasons for communicating. %ost people have never learned how to communicate. &veryone knows that communication is simply a matter of talking and listening. $owever, most of us mistakenly believe that the matter of communicating is simple Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication re'uires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender(s intent to communicate at the time of communication) thus communication can occur across vast distances in time and space. Communication re'uires that the communicating parties share an area of communicative commonality. The communication process is complete once the receiver has understood the sender. $umans have relied on communication from time immemorial to relay messages to one another. *owadays, we use complex technology to send important information to our loved ones, friends and business associates. $owever, the technologies we use today did not always exist. $uman beings have relied on various methods to communicate with each other. These methods have depended on the progress science had made at that time.

Body Language+ , friendly handshake, a gracious smile or even a warm hug. -ody language is communication through simple body gestures. The time of emergence of body language cannot be precisely or accurately calculated or calculated. $owever the

use of body language as means of communication has always been compared to communication modes used by animals. Speech+ The available fossil evidence hints that modern adaptations for speech appeared somewhere between ../ million and /00,000 years ago. The dynamics of evolution of speech ac'uisition is complex since it is influenced by factors like culturally transmitted sounds and genetic evolution. Writing+ The history of writing dates back to the various writing systems that evolved in the &arly -ron e ,ge 1late 2th millennium -C3 out of *eolithic proto-writing. The evolution of writing is said to have evolved from proto-writing which means pictorial messages 4symbols4scribbles that cannot be called 5actual 6writing5.. !riting has been used from the time of the %ayans and &gyptians. The oldest record of writing is some /000 years old. !riting in the early days was used to mark down the major events of history. #t was also used inside temples and burial chambers of kings and other important rulers to state who and what took place during the relevant time period. 7isual communication also goes hand in hand with writing. 8or convenience we will classify the evolution of writing into the following sub-categories+

.. 9ymbols :. Cave ;aintings <. ;etroglyphs4 =ock Carvings 2. ;ictograms /. #deograms >. !riting

Early Communication Methods Communication has existed in various forms since man appeared on Earth. The methods, however, consisted of a disorganized set of signs that could have different meanings to each human using them. The most well-known form of primitive communication is cave paintings. Other forms of early communication existed, although they were less popular for a variety of reasons. rums and smoke signals were also used !y primitive man, !ut were not the most practical means of communicating.

Early Handwritten Documents/Books Those with the proper education to do so were handwriting !ooks and documents for well over ",### years !efore the invention of the printing press. The word $manuscript$ is derived from the %atin term $li!ri manu scripti$ which translates to $!ook written !y hand$. &ost handwritten manuscripts were written on vellum as paper was not widely availa!le. The ma'ority of !ooks and documents written were of a religious nature. This was due to the fact that writing a religious piece was viewed as a form of worship, and also that most !ooks were written !y monks in monasteries. %iteracy rates were incredi!ly low during the time of handwritten !ooks, and few citizens had time for pleasure reading. Only the monks and the very wealthy were given the opportunity to !ecome literate. Two important periods stand out when one is investigating early !ooks. The time !etween the (th and ")th centuries was considered the age of the religious manuscript. The ")th century, however, !rought a!out exciting change in the realm of the written word. *or the first time, secular !ooks were produced for the sake of spreading knowledge not relating to religion. The catalyst for this change was the rise of universities in +taly, and the return of the crusaders from ,yzantium. The -enaissance had !egun. Printing Press +n "../, a man named 0ohann 1uten!erg revolutionized the way !ooks were made forever. 2n inventor !orn in 1ermany, 1uten!erg had a vision of a device that would utilized mova!le type using !locks with pre-printed text. This method, com!ined with the use of paper, ink and a printing press allowed for !ooks to !e mass-produced, and greatly reduced the price. 1uten!erg made his first device !y adapting a wine press to remove the water from paper after printing. 1uten!erg3s initial pro'ect with his new invention was a reprint of a %atin speech !ook. 4hen this was a success, he em!arked on his most famous printing pro'ect- the printing of the 1uten!erg !i!les. 5is were the first !i!les printed in Europe. 1uten!erg3s invention took awhile to catch on as the !ourgeoisie of the day still wanted to keep the peasants uneducated. Letter Writing and the Postman %etter writing has !een a means of communication for centuries. 5owever, it was an inefficient means of communicating as one had to wait until another person was traveling !efore their letter could !e sent. +n addition, there was no guarantee when, or if, the letter would ever reach its destination. 1iven that most people never traveled more than 6# miles from the place of their !irth until fairly recently, the need for an organized postal system was not a top priority for any country. 2s with all things, a pro'ect will not !e funded if it is not deemed necessary. Enter the 7nited 8tates circa "((6. Ours was a nation with a rapidly expanding population and territory. The first 7nited 8tates 9ost Office was created in "((6, and ,en'amin *ranklin was named the first 9ostmaster 1eneral. The system caught on :uickly and rapidly expanded. ,y "/;/, the 7nited 8tates had (,/## post offices which made it the largest postal system in the world. &ail was transported primarily !y train, which ran on a schedule and was efficient and relia!le. %etter writing also

gained popularity as more 2mericans moved out west and wanted to keep in touch with loved ones !ack east. Telegraph Evolution of all things, communication included, involves the desire to perform tasks more :uickly and efficiently. This desire was realized with the invention of the telegraph. The logistics of telegraphic communication involve the sending of electrostatically-generated signals through a wire. The system involves three main components- a !attery to supply the electricity, a key used to complete or !reak the circuit, and an electromagnet at the receiving end which consists of a wire that pulls on a piece of metal when electricity passes through it. 2ttri!uting the invention to a specific person is a su!'ect of hot de!ate. +n 2merica, the telegraph is attri!uted to 8amuel *.,. &orse, !ut his "/)( version was far from original. 2n Englishman !y the name of 4illiam 4atson had devised a way to send messages via telegraph in "(.(. The revolution of the telegraph allowed for instant communication across long distances, something that had previously !een unheard of. The technology was particularly useful during wartime to transmit pertinent information, and the first telegraph stations were set up along railroads as the necessary poles were already erected. The telegraph was also popular among the <ictorian set. Those of the upper class used the telegraph for personal communications, !ut those of lower economic status were excluded from the technology due to the cost involved in sending a telegraph. Telephone Today we take the a!ility to use a telephone for granted, !ut in "/(=, 2lexander ,ell was !usy realizing a dream that he hoped would once again revolutionize communication. %ike all inventors, ,ell was perpetually curious and always on the lookout for empirical evidence of the new and interesting. ,ell o!served that sound vi!rations could !e transmitted through the air, and received at the same pitch in another room. ,ell wanted to transfer sound and pitch across a wire, and ascertained that this would !e possi!le !y reproducing sound waves in a continuous, undulating current. Once proving this theory, ,ell realized the same concept could !e applied to human speech as it is composed of many complex sound vi!rations. 2 few trial and errors later, and the modern telephone was !orn. 1iven our reliance on telephones today, it is surprising to know that ,ell3s invention was initially :uite unpopular. The telephone did not generate nearly as much excitement as the telegraph had a few decades earlier. This may have !een due to the fact that 2mericans love novelty, and ,ell3s concept was not entirely new. The telegraph had cornered the long-distance contact market. The lack of popularity may also !e attri!uted to the cost of telephone service. &ost original telephone service su!scri!ers were corporations as a year of service cost >(;. -esidential service cost a family approximately >=# per year. +n the "/##3s, this was a su!stantial sum of money to !e spent on an unnecessary device.

adio uring the early "?##3s, a new form of communication and entertainment took the world !y storm. 4hat !egan as short-wave communication used during 44+ !lossomed into the hottest communication technology of the era once the war had ended. 2mateur !roadcasting !egan around "?"., commercial !roadcasting didn3t hit the air waves until "?;#. -adio was unregulated until "?;6 when the *ederal Communications Commission stepped in. 2t this point, approximately ; million homes had radios and there were several hundred stations !roadcasting thousands of programs. The technology advanced so fast that new radios were o!solete withing )-= months. -adios were incredi!ly popular during the late "?;#3s and early "?)#3s due to the 1reat epression and also the $flapper$ movement. The 2merican people loved to dance, and most other forms of entertainment were too expensive. The technology really took off in "?)) when Edwin 2rmstrong, $the father of *& radio$, invented fre:uency-modulated radio. ,y the "?.#3s, the num!er of radios in 2merican homes had dou!led, and /##,### *& receivers were produced in "?.(. Photography 2 picture is worth ",### words, or so the saying goes. 7nlike other forms of communication photography is a more su!'ective form of art. 2 picture can !e interpreted a million different ways !y a million different individuals, whereas other forms of communication tend to !e intent on conveying one message. &ost people love to !e photographed and man3s vain desire to depict himself has !een apparent since the discovery of the first cave paintings. Capturing an image of the self guarantees a place a in history for that individual. They are sure to !e remem!ered even after they have passed away. The first attempts at photography !egan in the early "/##3s !ut had poor results. The discovery of using reverse colors, what we today call a $negative$, greatly advanced the art of photography. The process of how a photo was taken and developed remained largely unchanged for "6# years until digital technology caught up. These days a piece of e:uipment that was once used only !y professional photographers is accessi!le to everyone. There are several varieties of cameras to choose from at any electronics stores, and even cell phones have cameras@ -egardless of how much the technology of communication continues to advance over the years, the photo will always hold a special place in history as the pioneer of capturing the human image for eternity. Tele!ision Television made its official de!ut at the "?)? Aew Bork 4orld3s *air. +t was seen as an amusing, !ut unnecessary, appliance and the radio continued to !e the favored form of communication. -adio3s popularity sky rocketed at the start of

44++ as televisions were not yet e:uipped to provide accurate and timely news. 2ll that !egan to change in the late"?.#3s. *our million T< sets were produced that year, !ut a "#-inch screen set cost over >;## making it an unattaina!le luxury for many families. 2s the years passed, prices for televisions dropped and now the ma'ority of homes have at least one television. +t is safe to theorize that few forms have communication have had as large an impact on society as television. 4hat was once a luxury item, is now an essential. Ours is a glo!al society o!sessed with television. 5umans are reliant on their televisions for constant entertainment. Even the news, which was once taken very seriously, has !een turned into cheap entertainment !y many networks. The repercussions of this reliance on television may not !e realized for many years, !ut they will eventually surface. Cell Phone +t may !e hard to !elieve !ut the first cell phone research !egan in "/.) when &ichael *araday conducted research to see if space could conduct electricity. *ast forward to"?(), and r. &artin Cooper is credited with inventing the first porta!le handset. *our years later, cell phones go pu!lic. +n the )( years the cellular phone industry has existed, the market has grown from >) million annually to an industry that commands >)# !illion annually. The customer !ase has also expanded from an initial trial population of ;### to more than =# million cellular phone owners in the 7nited 8tates. 4ho uses cell phonesC Everyone@ Cell phones can !e found everywhere in modern 2merica. %andlines are slowly !ecoming o!solete as everyone from senior citizens to elementary school students ac:uire their own cell phones. The convenience of having a phone at the ready is a concept that is very easy to market, !ut the fact that higher stress rates have !een linked to this phenomenon of constant contact is a commercial you won3t !e seeing anytime soon. "nternet The original +nternet was invented in "?=( for military purposes. 2n +nternet in its most !asic form is simply a group of computers a!le to connect to each other and share information. This included electronic mail DemailE and the use of sites containing vital information Dwe!sitesE. Once the +nternet started to catch on it was used primarily !y corporations for colla!oration purposes. Today the +nternet is availa!le everywhere and to everyone. +t is used for a variety of reasons including socializing, conducting research, and advertising. +t has even surpassed the television as a source of communication !ecause you can receive any information you want instantaneously. One click of a !utton and a we!site will load with whatever information you have re:uested. #ocial Media and Blogging 8ocial media defined is a special class of we!sites designed to meet three specific criteria. These criteria include-the ma'ority of the content on the site is user generated, there is a high level of interaction !etween social media we!site users, and the we!sites are easily integrated with other we!sites. One of the most popular social media platforms is

!logging. 2 we!log or $!log$ was first developed in "??(. 2 !log makes it possi!le for any person with +nternet access to create a type of we!site without having to !e familiar with any form of 5T&% coding that is generally necessary to create a we!site. ,logs are replacing 'ournals as a form of self expression for many young people today. 8ocial media and !logging have had a significant impact on personal and professional relationships. -eputations have !een made and destroyed with a few keystrokes. Bet, having a we! presence is vital in today3s society and economy. oes your company want to market a product to young adultsC Bou can find them on the +nternet. o you want to increase your popularity, and see and !e seenC Create a social media site devoted exclusively to yourself. The social lives of many young people today revolve around social media and !logging, and this isn3t necessarily healthy. Bou lose a sense of reality when all of your communication is conducted electronically. Communication is necessary for the survival of the human race, !ut have we taken it too farC %ove it or hate it, communication technology is here to stay and will only continue to expand in the future. 8ince the !eginning of time, people have had the need to communicate with one and other. FThe most common type of communication is speech, !ut you could not talk to someone who lived ;# miles away. FThen written language was developed, people marked sym!ols on paper, stone, or whatever was availa!le. Then hundreds of years passed, and people who wanted to share their ideas with people had to do allot of writing, until someone thought to make a writing machine. Throughout all of history man has found a way to communicate with each other. ,s time has passed more efficient and sophisticated ways of communication has emerged, but have these advances helped more then they(ve hurt. #n the beginning man communicated orally. $istory was passed on in stories that were told from person to person. #n order for this type of communication to work, the receiver must have a good memory to remember the story that was told to them. #f that person didn(t remember the story correctly then after it has been passed down through a number of people the story could end up sounding nothing like it did when it first began. This was the major problem with preliterate culture. %yth and stories began to intertwine, because these tales were so distorted from when they were first began. *ext, came the ideogrammatic alphabet. This was the first form of writing to emerge on earth. Cuneiform, which is believed to be the first alphabet, is a great example. The alphabet consisted of symbols and pictures instead of letters. *ow that there was a written alphabet, accurate documents of history could now be recorded instead of some

tall tale that had barely any truth to it at all. The ideogrammatic alphabet was a huge advance, but it had many problems. The alphabet was very complex, and re'uired a large amount of literacy to understand. !ell, back then a very small amount of the population was literate. 9o, the alphabet was basically con ?ood communication has two properties+ you express your thoughts and feelings openly and directly, and you encourage the other person to express his or her thoughts and feelings. The ideas and feelings of both people are important.