How did communication evolve?
Today with the fast-paced world of instant messaging, video, and social media it’s easy to take communication for granted. At times it’s difficult to consider how communcation used to work before modern technology, how did information travel long distances? Enter the telegraph, a groundbreaking invention that established a new era between technology and communication.
Where did it all start?
Communication in the 19th century was very simplistic and lacked reliable methods for long distances. Early attempts included smoke signals and even optic based telegraphs, but these methods often failed do to their reliance on weather and a clear line of sight. This changed when individuals like Samuel Morse pioneered the use of electromagnetism as a way to send messages over wire.
For the first time, a method of communication that didn’t rely on weather, letter mail, or daylight was about to reach the communication market and revolutionize it forever.
What human factors lead to the telegraph?
While the advent of such a technology was already a significant advancement in communication, it was the ingenuity and perseverance of individuals like Morse that drove it’s stake into it’s world wide implementation. From building infrastructure, securing patents, and alterations that improved signal distances, the telegraph became an essential tool.
It's not that analog isn't enough. It's that it's too much
Some individuals with technical knowlege might consider the idea of an analog based telegraph compared to a more simplistic digital approch.
The true is, especially at the time, an analog based telegraph would have been useless. Factors like electromatic interference (from other electrical signals and solar radiation) would reduce the quality of signals too much for analog to be desiphrable, this is especially true over long distances. Reducing the complexity of possible signal types by chosing an digital system allowed for more efficient and reliable communication.
How did the telegraph impact us?
The telegraph created a new medium for people to communicate. After creating the proper infrastructure, individuals were no-longer required to relay messages to one another using mail. One of the most significant impacts of the telegraph was on the stock market, it established real-time information about news and market trends enabling investors to make faster and more efficient decisions. The creation of the telegraph created an official national stock market, many public stock exchanges were founded during this time including the London Stock Exchange and Pairs Bourse.
Source: https://www.strike.money/stock-market/history