Writing on the Wall: Social Media - The First 2,000 Years
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- Author：Tom Standage
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Summary
Papyrus rolls and Twitter have much in common， as each was their generation's signature means of “instant” communication。 Indeed， as Tom Standage reveals in his scintillating new book， social media is anything but a new phenomenon。
From the papyrus letters that Roman statesmen used to exchange news across the Empire to the advent of hand-printed tracts of the Reformation to the pamphlets that spread propaganda during the American and French revolutions， Standage chronicles the increasingly sophisticated ways people shared information with each other， spontaneously and organically， down the centuries。 With the rise of newspapers in the nineteenth century， then radio and television， “mass media” consolidated control of information in the hands of a few moguls。 However， the Internet has brought information sharing full circle， and the spreading of news along social networks has reemerged in powerful new ways。
A fresh， provocative exploration of social media over two millennia， Writing on the Wall reminds us how modern behavior echoes that of prior centuries-the Catholic Church， for example， faced similar dilemmas in deciding whether or how to respond to Martin Luther's attacks in the early sixteenth century to those that large institutions confront today in responding to public criticism on the Internet。 Invoking the likes of Thomas Paine and Vinton Cerf， co-inventor of the Internet， Standage explores themes that have long been debated: the tension between freedom of expression and censorship; whether social media trivializes， coarsens or enhances public discourse; and its role in spurring innovation， enabling self-promotion， and fomenting revolution。 As engaging as it is visionary， Writing on the Wall draws on history to cast new light on today's social media and encourages debate and discussion about how we'll communicate in the future。
From the papyrus letters that Roman statesmen used to exchange news across the Empire to the advent of hand-printed tracts of the Reformation to the pamphlets that spread propaganda during the American and French revolutions， Standage chronicles the increasingly sophisticated ways people shared information with each other， spontaneously and organically， down the centuries。 With the rise of newspapers in the nineteenth century， then radio and television， “mass media” consolidated control of information in the hands of a few moguls。 However， the Internet has brought information sharing full circle， and the spreading of news along social networks has reemerged in powerful new ways。
A fresh， provocative exploration of social media over two millennia， Writing on the Wall reminds us how modern behavior echoes that of prior centuries-the Catholic Church， for example， faced similar dilemmas in deciding whether or how to respond to Martin Luther's attacks in the early sixteenth century to those that large institutions confront today in responding to public criticism on the Internet。 Invoking the likes of Thomas Paine and Vinton Cerf， co-inventor of the Internet， Standage explores themes that have long been debated: the tension between freedom of expression and censorship; whether social media trivializes， coarsens or enhances public discourse; and its role in spurring innovation， enabling self-promotion， and fomenting revolution。 As engaging as it is visionary， Writing on the Wall draws on history to cast new light on today's social media and encourages debate and discussion about how we'll communicate in the future。
Reviews
Koen
，
Most disappointing academic babble。 Disappointing， because of his excellent An Edible History of Humanity。 DNF
Jeff
，
A fascinating， opinion-changing take on the effects of Twitter and Facebook in a historical context。 So many of my objections and reservations about staying on both platforms are addressed here -- and so many were raised thousands of years ago， and again and again as technology has changed。 Highly recommend。
Nasir Ali
，
The premise of book is that Social media is not a new phenomenon it is part of human nature， the author then detail the historical journey of different forms of social media from oral tradition to digital forms and it's impact both good and bad on the society， along with given the voice to those without power and privilege， it does give a megaphone to the loudest in the room， spread misinfirmartion and suppression of free speech。 The choice is in the hand of the person using it for good or evil。 The premise of book is that Social media is not a new phenomenon it is part of human nature， the author then detail the historical journey of different forms of social media from oral tradition to digital forms and it's impact both good and bad on the society， along with given the voice to those without power and privilege， it does give a megaphone to the loudest in the room， spread misinfirmartion and suppression of free speech。 The choice is in the hand of the person using it for good or evil。 。。。more
Andrew
，
Tom Standage presents a unique take on an ever prominent topic - social media。Although this is the first title I have read of Standage's， I could easily grasp the value of his writing style on alternative subject matter。I believe this book aids in removing the mystique that surrounds social media & what it represents， reifying the idea that 'social media' is a fundamental application of human activity， & Facebook & the like are merely modern platforms of an ancient practice。 Tom Standage presents a unique take on an ever prominent topic - social media。Although this is the first title I have read of Standage's， I could easily grasp the value of his writing style on alternative subject matter。I believe this book aids in removing the mystique that surrounds social media & what it represents， reifying the idea that 'social media' is a fundamental application of human activity， & Facebook & the like are merely modern platforms of an ancient practice。 。。。more
Matt
，
At a time when one is almost ostracised for not being on at least one social media platform， Tom Standage has penned this most interesting of books。 Many feel that social media is something that emerged over the last twenty years， gaining momentum with the ever-complex nature of Tweets， Likes， and even the odd Snap。 However， if one looks through the annals of history， it is easy to find that social media in various forms has been around since humans sought to communicate in their basest forms。 T At a time when one is almost ostracised for not being on at least one social media platform， Tom Standage has penned this most interesting of books。 Many feel that social media is something that emerged over the last twenty years， gaining momentum with the ever-complex nature of Tweets， Likes， and even the odd Snap。 However， if one looks through the annals of history， it is easy to find that social media in various forms has been around since humans sought to communicate in their basest forms。 This is the premise of Standage’s book， which is sure to open the eyes of many readers and leave those who are not too addicted to their smartphones to take a look up from their screens。 As Standage opens his tome， he explores why humans socialise and what it is about us that makes it essential。 While his analysis of brain size and group activities is easy to comprehend， Standage extrapolates the argument and looks at the larger primate population。 Social grooming is but one interesting example of how primates have long interacted with one another， though it is quite telling。 It is a way to engage and help one another out。 One might even say we share a particular ability by doing so。 From there， the book gets into its central arguments， looking as far back as the Romans。 Standage explains that social media type interacting can be traced back effectively through the letter sharing done at the time， when writers who responded to missives would sometimes copy out the letter they sought to answer and share it amongst others。 This was an early form of social interaction and sharing of sentiments， almost a ‘response to a post’ idea。 This gradually continued in various forms， including in early Christianity， where this idea blossomed into creating a widespread religion by spreading ‘The Word’ along， through letters and， some of which were copied and left for others to read on their own。 This early communication form helped pave the way to many other exciting means of communication and sharing of key ideas， while also embracing those who felt similarly。One would be remiss not to look at the Gutenberg printing press as a major form of social communication。 This allowed mass copying and distribution of ideas， rather than having to copy them out over and over。 Gutenberg’s press went hand in hand with the rise of Martin Luther， who communicated his ideas against the Church effectively， beginning a （necessary？） conversation about the control and edicts that were being depicted at the time。 Standage argues quite effectively that Luther was one of the early users of social media to drum up revolutionary fervour when it comes to ideas， though he was surely not the only one。 Hand in hand with this is another topic， that being the censorship of ideas， which followed after people began expressing themselves in writing。 England had a history in the 17th century of requiring a stamp of approval to publish anything， thereby having it checked before it could be released to the public。 While this lack of press freedom may have created a stir， it does allow Standage to delve into the topic of how social interactions are not always factual， leaving some to wonder if this matters， in the larger scheme of things。 The evolution of the coffeehouse added much when it comes to social networking。 Standage discusses at some length about how coffee and discussions seemed a natural pairing。 In another of his books （and made reference to here）， Standage argues that the arrival of coffee to Europe helped foster the academic spirit。 Many key tenets of science and literature came out of coffeehouse encounters， including some of Newton’s most lasting scientific sentiments that still hold true today。 People will gather over coffee to hash out ideas and come to some semblance of agreement （or even differ greatly）， which helps promote the idea that coffee fosters social interactions and thereby is surely part of the larger social media progression。 I look to the news and see how things like #BlackLivesMatter are emerging with more intensity each and every day。 Use of social media platforms help propel the movement forward ， permitting people to share their sentiments and join the cause。 Standage shows repeatedly that this push to revolution is not new， through pamphlets， tracts， and political books that played a role for centuries。 To get people involved， things sometimes needed to be written down。 To raise the ire of the masses， people needed to see things in front of them。 While there were no cellular phones back in the 18th century， there were persuasive writers who could make their points and sway people to their side。 Equally， there were those who denounced what was being done and wrote to critique the revolutionary movement。 This banter， as well as being healthy， also fed the fires of debate and helped push the world towards new and exciting norms。 Without them， Americans may still be sipping tea and searching for the best crumpets on the market。 Seriously though， the back and forth of past writing helped shape the countries in which we live today and pushed for change when it was needed。 While it may have been slower than many hoped， there was progress made。。。 though some may wonder if we have regressed with the current criticisms being bandied about on current social media platforms！The latter portion of the book handles the explosion of mass media and how this helped create a social collective or isolationist mentality。 The birth of communication through broadly distributed newspapers， international correspondence by telegraph， and instant communication by radio （and eventually television） helped to develop new platforms for social interaction， or at least a connectivity that cannot be ignored。 Standage takes things one step further with a thoroughly interesting chapter on the emergence of ‘online social media’ with the start of computer to computer conversations。 This led to webpages， the internet， and soon the start of the international sandbox of communication。 While the ‘info at a click’ movement has surely become the norm， Standage argues that it has helped the world see things in real time and pushed social movements into instant reactions， rather than needing to stir up the people with a fiery speech on the printed page。 While this is the fourth book of Tom Standage’s that I have read in just over a week （obsessed， perhaps？）， I have taken away just as much with this piece as I did when he tackled issues in the other three。 Building on some of the arguments made previously by scanning world history， Standage shows how humans can connect on many levels at different times in history。 He effectively posits that human are social beings and that we are able to come together to share， even if we do not always agree。 It is this ability to communicate that has helped create advancements and kept the history books interesting。 Controversy has woven itself into the lives of all those who made a mark on the world， down to the lowliest 3am Tweet。 While many people feel that social media is surely a new thing that they will never fully comprehend， Tom Standage steps in to remind us that it is only a new permutation of a long-understood concept。 However and whenever you choose to put yourself out there to the world， you are making a difference。 All this and so much more is found within the pages of this easy to digest tome， which offers as much information as you’d find in an academic textbook。 Standage compresses things into a mere eleven chapters and makes great references to well-known historical events， as well as more modern happenings that shaped the world。 A must-read for those who want to take a step back and learn a little something as they try to synthesise where things have come in the past decade or so。 It’s not about making the world great again。。。 it’s about rediscovering how great it has always been！Kudos， Mr。 Standage， for another amazing reading experience。 I learn so much and find myself having fun as I do it， which is the best education of all！Love/hate the review？ An ever-growing collection of others appears at: http://pecheyponderings。wordpress。com/A Book for All Seasons， a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www。goodreads。com/group/show/。。。 。。。more
Mark
，
I am the audience for this book。 I have extensively studied communications and I'm a big fan of Tom Standage's writing， as in， I am very willing to buy whatever idea he is trying to sell me。 But unlike his other works which really broadened my horizons， this one fell a bit flat。 Not that he doesn't have a point， he does， but for one reason or another it's never really framed correctly until the very end of the book， by which time it is too late。 This might as well have been called "The History o I am the audience for this book。 I have extensively studied communications and I'm a big fan of Tom Standage's writing， as in， I am very willing to buy whatever idea he is trying to sell me。 But unlike his other works which really broadened my horizons， this one fell a bit flat。 Not that he doesn't have a point， he does， but for one reason or another it's never really framed correctly until the very end of the book， by which time it is too late。 This might as well have been called "The History of Media" and it would have worked out the same。What he is really trying to convey here is that the period in which media basically stood to mean curated channels such as those that came in the form of magazines and television， was actually an interregnum， and that what media really means is this more free-flowing format in which multiple actors generate content that is then replicated by interested parties。。。 much like when users share content in social media websites。 However， he gets so caught up in telling the reader about letter writing in Ancient times and so on， that the broader point seems to get a bit lost。It's still a good read， don't get me wrong， but his bibliography can offer you much better。 。。。more
Mary
，
This book just wasn't for me: it's not that I think it's objectively bad， but I fell asleep at least twice while reading it and that's never a good sign。 I didn't like the writing， it wasn't engaging at all， but maybe that's my fault since I was the one who consciously made the decision to buy the italian edition; let's just say I'm willing to give the writing the benefit of the doubt， let's pretend it was good。 There are so many other things I have problems with。 First of all， this book was pub This book just wasn't for me: it's not that I think it's objectively bad， but I fell asleep at least twice while reading it and that's never a good sign。 I didn't like the writing， it wasn't engaging at all， but maybe that's my fault since I was the one who consciously made the decision to buy the italian edition; let's just say I'm willing to give the writing the benefit of the doubt， let's pretend it was good。 There are so many other things I have problems with。 First of all， this book was published in 2013 and it shows: not something I can fault the author on because I don't think he keeps a crystal ball in his study but the last two chapters haven't aged well。 Add historical inaccuracies and far-fetched analogies to the mixture and there you have it， your recipe for disaster is complete。The main issue here is that I found myself disagreeing with the author way more times than I would have liked and when I was inclined to support the reasoning behind his theories it was just because I didn't know enough about the subject to reach my own conclusions。 This wouldn't really be a problem per se， I'm always willing to learn new stuff and it's pretty much my job to do so， but it made me question everything the author was talking about。Personally， the thing I liked the most about this book is its bibliography: there is a fair number of big names， and this makes me hope some of the ideas presented come from those; however， I feel some other big names were missing。 At least I was able to add some new titles to my tbr， that's a good thing right？ 。。。more
Cindi
，
This was really interesting。 I might have missed it if not for the Popsugar Challenge prompt - 'a book about or involving social media'。 I didn't want to read a popular fiction book for this， they're all the same。 I'd always known people had ways to spread the news， but this was an interesting story and I really enjoyed it。 This was really interesting。 I might have missed it if not for the Popsugar Challenge prompt - 'a book about or involving social media'。 I didn't want to read a popular fiction book for this， they're all the same。 I'd always known people had ways to spread the news， but this was an interesting story and I really enjoyed it。 。。。more
Three
，
read for my mass communication class- found the decentralized network of communication in the roman empire standage describes really interesting， & the subsequent focus on freedom of the press a little disappointing （ended up writing my paper on the rome chapter entirely- admittedly， i did skim the second half of the book due to a diagnosis of rapid onset deadlines/finals， lol）
Grace
，
Of course this is now dated， having been published in 2013。 The content becomes less current the nearer it gets to the present， with ideas for monetising social media floated by Standage having been played out in chilling reality by Facebook， and its interference in UK and US politics not being a part of the story， however relevant。 The more ancient material is fascinating and the best part of the book。 I found the long section on radio and TV to be much less relevant to writing and social media Of course this is now dated， having been published in 2013。 The content becomes less current the nearer it gets to the present， with ideas for monetising social media floated by Standage having been played out in chilling reality by Facebook， and its interference in UK and US politics not being a part of the story， however relevant。 The more ancient material is fascinating and the best part of the book。 I found the long section on radio and TV to be much less relevant to writing and social media and while I realise the description of these as part of mainstream media is as a foil for the preceding and subsequent social media I think it was too long， and seems like an off cut from one of Standage’s other books。 。。。more
DiAnne Warfield
，
Holt-Delhi Nonfiction Book Discussion Group title， December 2019。
Katie
，
I was skeptical about this book's intention of broadly connecting all of human communication together and how it evolved throughout history， but I was pleasantly surprised。 Standage does a great job of making these connections and giving an overview of human communication methods from language/sound development， writing/reading， visual communication， printing， technologies and more。 I was skeptical about this book's intention of broadly connecting all of human communication together and how it evolved throughout history， but I was pleasantly surprised。 Standage does a great job of making these connections and giving an overview of human communication methods from language/sound development， writing/reading， visual communication， printing， technologies and more。 。。。more
Eion Hewson
，
well written and informative
Stacey Slager
，
Super interesting。 People may think this is a bit kitschy， but the author does a good job of weaving together the history of communication with the methods by which we communicate。 Highly recommend。
Missy Maxwell
，
A great look back at the history of the world through media。 Starting with cave writings， word of mouth， gossip， pamphlets， books， newspapers， television and the internet。
Jeremy Langett
，
Tom Standage offers a clear and concise history of media as a social activity stemming from the birth of writing in 3400 BC to contemporary platforms enabling content sharing， judging and analyzing in all of its forms。 While the argument that social media actually maintain a long and storied history is developed， the implications for the different types of media on human civilization are crammed into the epilogue， which is probably the most fascinating section of the book。 Fans of Sherry Turkle， Tom Standage offers a clear and concise history of media as a social activity stemming from the birth of writing in 3400 BC to contemporary platforms enabling content sharing， judging and analyzing in all of its forms。 While the argument that social media actually maintain a long and storied history is developed， the implications for the different types of media on human civilization are crammed into the epilogue， which is probably the most fascinating section of the book。 Fans of Sherry Turkle， Maryanne Wolfe and others who carefully examine the way contemporary media have inhabited - or overtaken - the majority of our lives may be disappointed in such a short commentary。 However， the book is well worth a read just to uncover some of the historical roots of social media that are often taken for granted。 。。。more
Alicia
，
Literally what the title says it is， Standage brings his A-game to instructing about the historical significance of communication through the ages as a juxtaposition and comparison to the social media of today。 Skeptics always doubted the newest phase of communication as something horrid， but then it becomes accepted and then used and in some cases altered for another purpose。 The research is evident and Standage has an easy way of sharing the information。 Elements of each chapter and period can Literally what the title says it is， Standage brings his A-game to instructing about the historical significance of communication through the ages as a juxtaposition and comparison to the social media of today。 Skeptics always doubted the newest phase of communication as something horrid， but then it becomes accepted and then used and in some cases altered for another purpose。 The research is evident and Standage has an easy way of sharing the information。 Elements of each chapter and period can be used in the classroom or filed away or thought about in a way that's fruitful discussion about how humans interact （and in Standage's case showcases how all of it is about and related to gossip）。 I was particularly interested in the dawn of coffeehouses and how it spread information which he had mentioned in his other book about the history of the world in six glasses。 Unique and informative， as always and he mentions another of my favorite authors- Sherry Turkle。 。。。more
Almad
，
Interesting overview of history of communication。 Well-written， readable and resource with interesting tidbits。 What drives the value down for me is the apparent storytelling bias which also causes this book to age—what may have shown as inevitable progress in 2012 may be forgotten in 2019。 That said， first 70% of the book are well worth reading if you are interested in how writing shaped the world。
Ameya Warde
，
I loved this， and wish it was longer！ I might buy a copy just to chuck at people's heads when they make ignorant remarks about social media。 This is a great book to show that social media in one form or another has been around as long as writing has， and that includes "oversharing" personal life details with others/the public as well。 I loved this， and wish it was longer！ I might buy a copy just to chuck at people's heads when they make ignorant remarks about social media。 This is a great book to show that social media in one form or another has been around as long as writing has， and that includes "oversharing" personal life details with others/the public as well。 。。。more
Kathryn
，
The author made some interesting points， but I felt like I was drowning in unnecessary details with this book。 Instead of providing one example to illustrate his point， he seemed to provide as many as he could find。 I enjoyed his discussion of older stuff more than recent technologies like blogs， but that's likely because I'm already familiar with the latter。 He makes an intriguing argument that what we often think of as traditional forms of mass media， like radio， are actually historical anomal The author made some interesting points， but I felt like I was drowning in unnecessary details with this book。 Instead of providing one example to illustrate his point， he seemed to provide as many as he could find。 I enjoyed his discussion of older stuff more than recent technologies like blogs， but that's likely because I'm already familiar with the latter。 He makes an intriguing argument that what we often think of as traditional forms of mass media， like radio， are actually historical anomalies。 I'm curious to see how broadcast media， decentralized communication hubs， the social media heavyweights， and regulators interact moving forward。This paragraph towards the end of the book is a good summary of the different modes of communication that he explores:"As this book has argued， social media is not new。 It has been around for centuries。 Today， blogs are the new pamphlets。 Microblogs and online social networks are the new coffee houses。 Media-sharing sites are the new commonplace books。 They are all shared， social platforms that enable ideas to travel from one person to another， rippling through networks of people connected by social bonds， rather than having to squeeze through the privileged bottleneck of broadcast media。 The rebirth of social media in the Internet age represents a profound shift—and a return， in many respects， to the way things used to be。" 。。。more
Jon
，
Standage makes the intriguing claim that new media is in fact very， very old media。 That is， with the exception of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries， during which we had an exceptional emphasis on mass media， our media has generally been focused on the social--people sharing things among each other， and things becoming virally popular among them。Standage starts his evidence with tales from Rome and how messages were passed along in the ancient city。 Most specifically， he writes of Cicero， w Standage makes the intriguing claim that new media is in fact very， very old media。 That is， with the exception of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries， during which we had an exceptional emphasis on mass media， our media has generally been focused on the social--people sharing things among each other， and things becoming virally popular among them。Standage starts his evidence with tales from Rome and how messages were passed along in the ancient city。 Most specifically， he writes of Cicero， who was a known letter writer。 Within Rome， men of higher class， like Cicero， had a network for postal carriers who would carry messages to and from others， many times a day。 When traveling afar， there were other means of carrying messages to and from Rome， via soldiers， sailors， and officials。 Cicero always wanted to be in the know and pressed his friends to send him news of state while he was gone。 In Rome itself， he passed on messages to others， copying parts of other messages he thought interesting， telling others to share his messages。 This was not unlike Facebook in a sense， with popular ideas and messages being shared among friends and friends of friends， with some going "viral。"Books were passed along in a similar manner。 Since one had to write out the book， there being no press， people would copy out books or passages of books they most liked。 A few who could afford it might buy a book that had been copied out by slaves who often served as scribes。 To get a book into circulation， writers often dedicated their works to patrons who had libraries from which they lent out to others。 This was a way to get into such people's good graces。Writing a book itself often involved a couple of drafts。 Sometimes portions of a work in progress might be shared with close friends with an understanding that that draft was not to be passed on to others。There was even a Roman "newspaper。" This singular document was written out and posted in a public place each day。 People could come and read it and copy out passages that they found of interest， which they then included in messages to others。 We have no copies of the paper itself， but we have passages that were copied from the paper。Christians used letter writing to pass along messages also， as is evident from the New Testament， the majority of which is made up of letters。 These letters were shared with other churches and people--and were expected to be。Next， Standage drops into the Reformation and looks at how Luther's message went viral。 By that time， of course， there was a printing press。 This meant ideas could be spread faster and more easily--but they were still not reproduced in a fast manner。 A press might make two hundred copies of something in a day。 Phamplets were printed and shared。From here， Standage looks at the royal court of Britain in the seventeenth century。 Knowing the power of print， governments put limitations on who could print and what could be printed。 Printers often had to have licenses or get government approval for what they put into circulation。 Special taxes also often applied。 There was no shortage of people who tried to skirt these laws。But what this also meant was that people also continued to pass along messages by hand， as in the royal court， where people imprisoned by Henry VIII kept a kind of public journal of sorts， writing out verses for one another--sometimes their own， sometimes those of others。 In fact， poetry was， it seems， a kind of private affair。 We think of Donne and others writing for a large audience， when in fact it was written for a few friends， friends who then ended up sharing those poems among their friends， much of this by hand。Another innovation was the coffeehouse。 In it， people gathered to discuss issues of the day。 When it first became popular， such houses often focused on one kind of person--sailors， officials， intellectuals。 Thus， some people held office hours there， and meetings took place there， allowing for the free exchange of information。 It was via such a house we get our learned societies， and by them that we get our scholarly journal publishing。 A society of scientists thought it a good idea to gather said information into a document to be shared among such thinkers。 Only the best was to be included， meaning that they would review each others work before putting it in to print。 Some knew others overseas and， with peer review， got those other Europeans into the publication。 Such made me think a bit about scholarly publishing today， about how it costs so much and how one has to pay for it。 There's much bandied about about open access， but even this has costs。 Still， much of our practice goes back to these older times and to the need to print。 I do think there are other models that could be used， models that might still cost ten thousand dollars or so to put out a quality product but that would be cheaper and more effective than our current system。Finally， Standage gets to mass media。 Around the early 1800s， steam printing allowed for a much faster process。 Instead of a mere couple hundred copies a day， printers could now turn out a thousand or more copies。 Most newspapers still printed for a very small audience， charging exorbitant prices of a half days' wage or so， but the New York Sun decided on a different model。 It would print vast quantities and sell the paper for cheap。 How would it recoup money？ It would sell ads。 Mass media was born。Whereas newspapers earlier had largely been full of letters to and from people and material from other papers， things printers found of interest， the new mass market paper needed more info to include， so it hired reporters to go out and gather stories。From here， we then move to radio and television。 Radio started out as social， with people exchanging messages back and forth， but it became a one-way medium soon after the Titanic disaster。 Radio was used for emergencies， and so many amateurs clogged the wires that it was hard for government messages to get through。 In the case of the Titanic， amateurs were blamed for the message about ice not getting through to the ship （the real case， however， was that the ship had told another ship to quit sending messages to it because there were too many messages the Titanic itself was trying to send out for its passengers on board）。NBC/RCA took an early lead in gathering together a bundle of radio stations to forge a network。 The fledgling CBS did similarly。 When TV came about， NBC used its special interest clout with Congress to keep small stations from being able to compete or be formed， pushing out some early upstarts that would have provided competition， meaning that TV became almost wholly national in scope。 In Britain， the government took an active role in forging media， with its BBC--there， individual licenses paid for the programming， which was to be for the "betterment" of the citizens。 In America， the ad model form newspapers became the means by which money was made。 Social media was no longer。Until the Net， which Standage then goes into the history of。But to some extent this is a bit of a broken argument， even if a neat one。 For one， people never stopped sending letters or copying them out。 Social media did not disappear during the TV era。 And for two， the ideas that caught on were often those from the rich and the elite， even in the eras before mass media。 After all， it was those who had power and money who were most able to spread their message， whether via TV or via a handwritten book。 Similarly today， even with Facebook and the like， it is those with large platforms who have a larger role in shaping the discourse， and the larger platforms often belong to the elite。 This isn't to say that a regular joe's message doesn't go viral at times， but it is to say that those who already have power more often have the likelihood of going viral。 。。。more
Rick Hall
，
I gave it four stars because that was how much I liked it the first time。 Was still interesting rereading it after a couple of years， but not as good。 I do think the author makes a very good case that the "new media" has a lot in common with "old old media" and that the mass media era was an unusual period and more social communication was the norm。 It was interesting hearing about the problems that occurred in earlier times because they seem so similar to what we are dealing with today。 Reading I gave it four stars because that was how much I liked it the first time。 Was still interesting rereading it after a couple of years， but not as good。 I do think the author makes a very good case that the "new media" has a lot in common with "old old media" and that the mass media era was an unusual period and more social communication was the norm。 It was interesting hearing about the problems that occurred in earlier times because they seem so similar to what we are dealing with today。 Reading about people complaining about circulating pamphlets containing lies and slanders sounds a lot like the memes going around before the last election。 It makes me think we can look to history to find ways to filter out the noise without censoring any truth。 。。。more
Jennifer
，
Interesting comparisons of social media between each time period。 This book is an excellent supplement for any history or communication courses。
Lahiru Perera
，
It was an okay read for me。 I did find some of the things actually pretty fascinating。 But felt some chapters were dragging on and on unnecessarily。 Bit disappointed。 Had higher expectations for this one。
Sathya
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Can a book be more Anglo-centric when it considers writing？ Its like the rest of the world - and any other language besides English - does not exist and is insignificant to the writing and sharing of information。 Can a book be looser about what it defines - or not defines - as social media？ Anything from propaganda and centralised publishing can still be counted as 'social media' apparently。 Save the time and read another book Can a book be more Anglo-centric when it considers writing？ Its like the rest of the world - and any other language besides English - does not exist and is insignificant to the writing and sharing of information。 Can a book be looser about what it defines - or not defines - as social media？ Anything from propaganda and centralised publishing can still be counted as 'social media' apparently。 Save the time and read another book 。。。more
Alina
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Interesting， for sure。 Not as good as The History of the World in Six Glasses。 Plus， some of the historical mentions repeat， which it's understandable in a way， since same historical moments are tied into a drink and a social interaction in the same time， however， it's a bit redundant， between the two books。 Interesting， for sure。 Not as good as The History of the World in Six Glasses。 Plus， some of the historical mentions repeat， which it's understandable in a way， since same historical moments are tied into a drink and a social interaction in the same time， however， it's a bit redundant， between the two books。 。。。more
Cathy
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I really enjoyed this survey of the world's history through the lens of written communication and information sharing。 I really enjoyed this survey of the world's history through the lens of written communication and information sharing。 。。。more
Rossdavidh
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This book's thesis is more or less stated in the subtitle: ""The First 2，000 Years"。 It is Tom Standage's assertion that "social media" are not a fundamental rupture from the past in terms of how we， as a society， communicate。 It is a change， but so was the change from oral to written， from handwritten to printed， from printed to broadcast。 Each of these had far-reaching and hard to predict consequences。 Each changed the way society worked。 However。。。Roman social commentary included hand-wringin This book's thesis is more or less stated in the subtitle: ""The First 2，000 Years"。 It is Tom Standage's assertion that "social media" are not a fundamental rupture from the past in terms of how we， as a society， communicate。 It is a change， but so was the change from oral to written， from handwritten to printed， from printed to broadcast。 Each of these had far-reaching and hard to predict consequences。 Each changed the way society worked。 However。。。Roman social commentary included hand-wringing over how people would now rush to meet the incoming ships that delivered mail from elsewhere。 It sounds a lot like the bemoaning of checking your email too often。 Also， people like Cicero would spend hours a day reading， writing， copying， and forwarding copies of their mail to others， in an extended network of friends of friends。Martin Luther met success where his anti-Vatican predecessors did not， in part because the printing press allowed his opinion to spread so quickly。 Social commentary of the time bemoaned the fact that the new medium had fractured the social cohesion that a central church hierarchy brought， and in its place sowed discord and division。Pamphleteers of the 18th century had a tendency to reprint the pamphlets of their ideological opponents， interspersed with their own rebuttals， point by point。 I have seen the identical technique used in email and forum postings more times than I can count。Governments did not sit idly by， of course， as all this happened。 They tried， repeatedly， to throw their arms around the burgeoning masses of pamphleteers and printers of books， but with only occasional success。 Meanwhile， revolutionaries wrote impassioned essays on how the printing press had made it impossible for tyranny to prevail。。。from hiding， of course， until they were jailed， as tyranny proved more capable of surviving and adapting to the onset of the new media than they had expected。I read most of the chapter on how coffeehouses were born out of， and helped birth， the explosion of ideas that accompanied the fact that the new medium helped spread ideas more rapidly。 I read it。。。in a coffeehouse， with free WiFi， surrounded by people on their laptops and smartphones。Against this backdrop， from Cicero's day to the turn of the 20th century， it becomes apparent what a massive exception the broadcast era （roughly， the 20th century） was。 How massively disempowering。 How ruthlessly homogenizing。 Then， from the ARPANET up to today， we see that ice age of social communication melt， and the （often incoherent） babble of social media return。None of this means that email， chatrooms， forums， and social networks are without their problems， of course。 But it is uncommonly useful to be reminded how weird and stultifying the broadcast era was， and how often we have seen society grapple with the issues of fake news， tacky advertising， excessive diversions from what we should be doing， and so forth。I also realized that this is the sort of thing which our history books ought to be telling us， and all too seldom do。 We don't hear too much about generals and monarchs in this book; we hear a lot about how the rest of society was living。 Given that most of us will be neither generals nor monarchs， it seems to me a lot more useful to get that perspective。 。。。more
Zack
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Standage's work is a relatively straightforward history of media， very full of interesting illustrations and trivial tidbits about the development and proliferations of technologies。 His argument that contemporary media is really a return to the mindsets and ideas of an earlier age of media is convincing and clear。 What isn't so clear to me， however， is why he merely summarizes the researched consequences of contemporary media and seems to disregard these findings。 We're returning to an earlier Standage's work is a relatively straightforward history of media， very full of interesting illustrations and trivial tidbits about the development and proliferations of technologies。 His argument that contemporary media is really a return to the mindsets and ideas of an earlier age of media is convincing and clear。 What isn't so clear to me， however， is why he merely summarizes the researched consequences of contemporary media and seems to disregard these findings。 We're returning to an earlier way of doing/thinking about media， he says， and so this is obviously a good thing。 In some ways this return may be true， but that does not inherently mean that these technologies are exactly the same。 They have their own biases and issues that must be dealt with， a point which Standage seems all too willing to ignore。This book is a good， useful history， but doesn't offer a whole lot in the way of material for thought about what the implications are for media in our own time。 。。。more
James Lang
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