When the proliferation of communication systems began in the nineteenth century, access was limited to empires that could afford to dedicate resource and capital to the production and installation of undersea cables. Beyond the hardware requisite to the spread of information, empires also controlled information paths as they established different nodes and spurs suited to specific geopolitical needs. During wartime, control of such routes allowed empires to limit or even cut-off information to a particular region. This allowed empires, such as the British Empire, to inundate information centers with propaganda to support a particular cause or quash a potential uprising.
Control of information was not unique to telegraph communication via undersea cables. Because early news agencies, such as Reuters, Havas, and Wolff were closely aligned to a particular state, many times the information generated by these news agencies was manipulated its relationship with its parent state. State domination of information communication persisted throughout the first half of the twentieth century as states and news agencies battled for control of information channels whether the medium be print, telegraphy, or film.
While information is still manipulated as tool for propaganda even today, access to a myriad of information sources and the ease with which it can be accessed has revolutionized information proliferation. The advent of the Internet and social media has catalyzed the evolution of communication beyond its historical ancestry. Today, one needs nothing more than an Internet connection to independently determine the source and type of information one wishes to access. Rather than being at the mercy of the printing press, telegraph, and government control, for the most part individuals can circumnavigate various gatekeepers and can instantaneously share or acquire information.
Recent rare natural phenomenon on the East Coast illustrates the ease with information is shared today. During the recent earthquake that impacted a substantial portion of the Mid-Atlantic, social media proved to beat traditional media to reporting on the event. Many posted to Twitter and Facebook moments after, and even during, the earthquake to report reaction to the situation while hypothesizing the cause of the moderate vibrations. The social media reaction demonstrated the speed and ease with which information is shared and the non-existent cost associated with communication.
Having developed new technologies that avoid gatekeepers in the form of state-aligned communication agencies, information has not only become easier and faster to share and access, but it has also become something that many things are not: virtually free.
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Interesting. It is the concluding part of your post that I want to comment on, and yes I see what you're trying to say. One thing we might want to keep an eye on is the increasing commodification of "information" for example some newspapers are trending to charging for online access, most prominently the Times (UK) and the New York Times.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing to watch for is metered billing for Internet Service Providers, or for bandwith caps. Certainly information is more readily and widely and quickly available, but corporations are seeing opportunities to earn a profit from that reality. If one has DSL internet, a smartphone and a tablet,then yes they can share an image instantenously on facebook through their phone, however at the same time there's a chance that they're paying three separate monthly data bills. - Will