Analysis of Publication Technologies - Essay Example

Analysis of Publication Technologies Student name Unit: Professor: Submission date: Introduction The society continues to experience immense civilization, due to media influence. The media is responsible for disseminating vital information to the general public. The information sent may either have a positive or negative impact on the recipient. The media fraternity; therefore, have a social obligation of ensuring that the information released to the public undergoes thorough scrutiny (Febvre and Martin, 1997). Despite, the tremendous work the media does, there are concerns over its handling of some sensitive information. Critics argue that, in some cases the media fails to observe professionalism, and this may result in a devastating impact on the society. However, supporters of the media consider it as a platform for imparting knowledge, reporting news and offering leadership through publication. The scope of the media continues to broaden following the adoption of different publication technologies. The publication technologies have completely reshaped the role of the media. The publishing power of the media is now greater than ever. The media now have more influence on the public compared a few decades ago (Montgomery, 2005). The evolution of media publication has brought changes to the society. As we shall see in the following discussion, a change in publication results to change in the society. It is, therefore, important to examine different publication technologies and their impact on the society. In particular, the paper focuses on specific pre-1900 and post-2000 publication technologies. Further, the paper explores the impact of the specific publication technologies on social relationships. Pre-1900 Publication Technologies It is almost impossible to publish without the use of publication technologies. Before 1900 century, the printing press was the only form of publication technology available. It was popular and widely used given that it was the only alternative the media had for publishing purposes. However, the application of printing press could not allow for interactive engagement. At the time, Europe was experiencing rapid growth both in social and economic aspects (Smith and Stolte, 2010). The rampant growth prompted the need to develop traditional methods of printing. The traditional methods of printing hardly satisfied the growing societal demands. For example, the printing of books using hand-copying approach totally failed to meet the middle-class demand for books. In 1440, Gutenberg Johannes a German scholar made significant advancement to the printing press. His innovative work enhanced the printing capabilities, such that it was now possible to make mass production within a very short time. Gutenberg’ invention resulted in large-scale distribution of Gutenberg Bible in the fifteenth century (Bowman and Willis, 2003). Following the mass printing of the Bible, more people learnt how to read. The use of printing press in the production of books did not imply that the materials were cheaper compared to the handwritten ones. However, the use of printing press meant that more people could easily access the reading materials. Further, the new invention meant that knowledge could be preserved and passed on to the next generation. In the beginning, the printed materials were only reserved for the few elite in the society. It was only the high-class people who had access to the materials from all fields. The impact of printing press grew wide to a point where other Countries all over the World began emulating the idea. It was no longer applicable only in Germany but also in other parts of the World such as Europe, America and France. Following the widespread increase in the use of printing press, a larger population of the World was now able to access reading materials (Wurff and Lauf, 2005).The number of people who could read increased tremendously. The knowledge was no longer a preserve of the few elite but spread to different people. Researchers point out that printing press played an important role in transforming the society social, economically and politically. For example, printing press facilitated preservation knowledge and promoted the development of other scientific methods. As much as all the changes propagated by the printing press were to happen eventually, but the printing press increased the impact of the changes to the society. The use of printing press further led to the development of other publication technologies such painting of rocks (Shreve, 2012). Rock painting aimed at preserving some historical information. There was also the use of clay tablets, all aimed at preserving history. As it turned out, new publication technologies resulted from evolution from previous inventions. Impact of Printing Press on Social relationships The development of printing press by Gutenberg Johannes marked the beginning of serious impact on social relationships. Before 1900, the ability of people to interact was limited given the nature of technological development (Kranzberg, 1985). People could only interact with those within their surroundings. People were living in isolation such that it was almost impossible to communicate with other people from other locations. People could only communicate through letters. First, the process was time-consuming as it took a lot of time before the letter could reach to the intended recipient. Second, there were higher chances that the letter would get lost on the way. Therefore, limitation of publication technologies prevented people from interacting. Another impact of pre-1900 publication technologies on social relationships was that it was difficult to keep the interactions up-to-date. As earlier stated, it consumed a lot of time to communicate. Therefore, it was possible that by the time the recipient received the message, the information was longer useful. Further, the pre-1900 publication technologies limited the number of who could receive information (Greer and Mensing, 2006). It was not possible to send letters for many people at the same time. In most cases, people only sent letters for few friends, since there was no incentive to send the letters for many people. Two-way communication was also limited; it was not possible for the recipient to give feedback on time. The publication technologies are also limited people from expressing their thoughts freely. It was not possible to alter the content of a message once it was sent. It was difficult to express opinions in different ways since the channel of communication available could not allow. Post-2000 Publication Technology The development of personal computers marked the beginning of a new era in publication. The emergence of internet played an important role in enhancing publications. The use of the internet as a publication tool continues widen as time passes. As a publication technology, the internet has had a tremendous impact on the society especially in the 21st century (Greer and Mensing, 2006). Research shows that the internet plays a significant role promoting mass communication for people living in different parts of the World. The world is now rapidly becoming a global community, due to the use of the internet as a publishing tool. The evolution of computer and internet application appears to be overtaking the use of printing press. However, the use of books as a source of knowledge remains relevant despite the emergence of internet publication technology. On the contrary, the use of digital publisher aims at enhancing the print industry (Leung, and Lee, 2005). As earlier stated, there are so many factors limiting the use of print technology. Inefficiency is an example of factors affecting the use of printing press as a publication technology. Some scholars have further, pointed out that the technological evolution taking place may not necessary result in the abandonment of the use of printing press. The scholar insists that the purpose of the new technology is to improve efficiency in publication. Therefore, it means that people will still use books as a source of knowledge. It is not prudent to abandon the use of books simply because the use of internet makes it easier to access information. People should not entirely depend on the internet to get information since it is not all the content on the internet that is useful. In fact, research indicates that there is lot information found on the internet that is not relevant to the society. Therefore, people should continue to use books given that they are independent and give information that is valuable. The society needs to incorporate the use internet in publishing books online. Digital publishing has several advantages such as flexibility. The use of the internet as a publication technology also helps in broadening the share market for books (DiMaggio et al., 2001). The figure below shows increasing rate at which the society is adopting the use of the internet. Impact of Internet on Social Relationships The evolution of the internet as a publication technology continues to impact the society in various ways. In particular, the use of internet has great influence on the way people interact. The post-2000 era presents technological revolution, where unlike before, it is possible to use more than one publishing technology (Kranzberg, 1985). The type of publishing technologies used today includes internet, radio, television, music and video. However, the internet is the most prominent form of publishing technology used. The use of internet presents users with different platforms where they can communicate and interact with other each other. Some of the most common internet platforms include Facebook, blogging sites and Twitter. Therefore, compared with pre-1900, it is obvious that the social relationships of people living in the 20th century have significantly improved. The use of internet allows people to interact with each other despite their locational differences. It is possible for people living in different Countries to communicate with each other effectively. The fact that people can share information while living away from each other helps to widen their social circles. People use various internet platforms to express their opinions, and many people access this information in different regions. The use of internet platforms, therefore, allows people living in the post-2000 era to establish easily and maintain social relationships compared to the people who lived in the pre-1900 era (DiMaggio et al., 2001). The use of internet also allows people to engage instantly. It is, therefore, possible to update the information given in the case of any changes. For example, a person using Internet platform such as Facebook can easily update the content of his information if necessary. People can also receive the information immediately. Therefore, in the case of any error in the information given, the receivers can easily inform the sender for the purpose of clarification. The faster transmission of information to and fro makes the publishing technology of 20th century more efficient (Leung, and Lee, 2005). Further, the use of internet allows users to send information to more than one person at the same time. This increases the number of people receiving the information. The multiple publishing of information is made possible by the use of the various Internet platforms. It is possible for someone to send the same message to different people using different platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. The ability to send information to many people at the same time enhances social relationships for people in the 21st century. In addition, the use of the internet as a publication technology allows for two-way communication in social interactions (DiMaggio et al., 2001). It is possible for receivers of information to comment about it immediately they receive it. Likewise, the sender is also able to reply to the comment, and this keeps the interaction going. Another advantage of using the internet is that it allows for visual communication. It is possible for internet users to communicate through pictures, videos and music and this facilitates a better understanding of the message. Conclusion From the above discussion, it appears that users of publishing technologies of 21st century enjoy a deeper social interaction compared to those of pre-1900 period. However, it is important to understand that the use of the internet can be more harmful to the society than the traditional methods. The different internet platforms allow users the freedom to post anything and anytime. However, the positive impact that internet has on social relationships cannot be ignored. It is also evident that, though the two publishing technologies are different, they can be used together to improve the social relationships. References Bowman, S., and Willis, C., 2003, “We media. How audiences are shaping the future of news and information,” DiMaggio, P.,Hargittai, E., Neuman, W. R., and Robinson, J. P., 2001, “Social implications of the Internet,” Annual review of sociology, 307-336. Febvre, L., and Martin, H. J., 1997, “ The coming of the book: the impact of printing 1450-1800 (Vol. 10). Verso,” Greer, J., and Mensing, D., 2006, “ Internet Newspapers: The Making of a Mainstream Medium,” Kranzberg, M., 1985, “ Information technologies and social transformation,” National Academy of Engineering, Washington, DC. Leung, L., and Lee, P. S., 2005, “Multiple determinants of life quality: the roles of Internet activities,” use of new media, social support, and leisure activities, Telematics and Informatics, 22(3), 161-180. Montgomery, J., 2005, “ Beware ‘the creative class, Creativity and wealth creation revisited,” Local Economy, 20(4), 337-343. Shreve, B. G., 2012, “Red Power rising: The National Indian Youth Council and the origins of native activism (Vol. 5),” University of Oklahoma Press. Smith, R. C., and Stolte, Y., 2010, “Background information report,” Wurff, R., and Lauf, E., 2005, “Print and online newspapers in Europe: a comparative analysis in 16 countries,” Maklu. Read More

Researchers point out that printing press played an important role in transforming the society social, economically and politically. For example, printing press facilitated preservation knowledge and promoted the development of other scientific methods. As much as all the changes propagated by the printing press were to happen eventually, but the printing press increased the impact of the changes to the society. The use of printing press further led to the development of other publication technologies such painting of rocks (Shreve, 2012).

Rock painting aimed at preserving some historical information. There was also the use of clay tablets, all aimed at preserving history. As it turned out, new publication technologies resulted from evolution from previous inventions. Impact of Printing Press on Social relationships The development of printing press by Gutenberg Johannes marked the beginning of serious impact on social relationships. Before 1900, the ability of people to interact was limited given the nature of technological development (Kranzberg, 1985).

People could only interact with those within their surroundings. People were living in isolation such that it was almost impossible to communicate with other people from other locations. People could only communicate through letters. First, the process was time-consuming as it took a lot of time before the letter could reach to the intended recipient. Second, there were higher chances that the letter would get lost on the way. Therefore, limitation of publication technologies prevented people from interacting.

Another impact of pre-1900 publication technologies on social relationships was that it was difficult to keep the interactions up-to-date. As earlier stated, it consumed a lot of time to communicate. Therefore, it was possible that by the time the recipient received the message, the information was longer useful. Further, the pre-1900 publication technologies limited the number of who could receive information (Greer and Mensing, 2006). It was not possible to send letters for many people at the same time.

In most cases, people only sent letters for few friends, since there was no incentive to send the letters for many people. Two-way communication was also limited; it was not possible for the recipient to give feedback on time. The publication technologies are also limited people from expressing their thoughts freely. It was not possible to alter the content of a message once it was sent. It was difficult to express opinions in different ways since the channel of communication available could not allow.

Post-2000 Publication Technology The development of personal computers marked the beginning of a new era in publication. The emergence of internet played an important role in enhancing publications. The use of the internet as a publication tool continues widen as time passes. As a publication technology, the internet has had a tremendous impact on the society especially in the 21st century (Greer and Mensing, 2006). Research shows that the internet plays a significant role promoting mass communication for people living in different parts of the World.

The world is now rapidly becoming a global community, due to the use of the internet as a publishing tool. The evolution of computer and internet application appears to be overtaking the use of printing press. However, the use of books as a source of knowledge remains relevant despite the emergence of internet publication technology. On the contrary, the use of digital publisher aims at enhancing the print industry (Leung, and Lee, 2005). As earlier stated, there are so many factors limiting the use of print technology.

Inefficiency is an example of factors affecting the use of printing press as a publication technology. Some scholars have further, pointed out that the technological evolution taking place may not necessary result in the abandonment of the use of printing press. The scholar insists that the purpose of the new technology is to improve efficiency in publication.

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