The second most important communication revolution in history

I’d like to step way back and look at the big picture of where we are today. To use a cliché, this isn't a "30,000-foot view". Rather it's more like the view from the moon.

Johannes Gutenberg invention of mechanical movable type printing in about 1439 was the most important communications breakthrough in history. It meant books could be mass produced, rather than painstakingly copied by hand. It meant ordinary people could refer to things in books, like laws, that used to have to be committed to memory.

The printing press created the first communications revolution by freeing people from memorizing information which allowed them to use brainpower to create things instead. At the same time, this first communications revolution (which took many decades) meant that large numbers of people became literate, raising living standards along the way.

The second most important communication revolution in history

556 years later, in 1995, the second most important communications revolution took off. I choose 1995 because it was the year Netscape went public on the success of Netscape Navigator the first popular product to allow people easy Internet connections and Web browsing.

I talk about it in this short clip. My friend Chris Brogan pointed out that I ended the clip abruptly. True. The clip was taken from my new speaking highlight reel. The entire video is about 8 minutes and is here if you want to check it out: Marketing and Leadership Speaker David Meerman Scott.

We're fortunate to be living in this time in history. We're actually living through an important revolution.

I figure we're about half way through this second communications revolution. The first 17 years or so were fast paced and things changed very quickly. Adoption went from a few million people online to billions. But things are still changing, as many organizations aren't truly communicating in real-time yet.

You are what you publish

The next few decades will see continuation of the revolution. Are you a supporter of the revolution? Or do you support the old regime?

Comments

[Rj_c]

I have to say I am a big fan of the New Revolution but we can't disconnect completely from the fruits of the previous one.

I am reading a book called "Just My Type" and the accomplishments of Gutenberg are mentioned in a different manner.

I can't wait to see how this revolution keeps on gaining traction!

[Keith at KendallPress]

We are enjoying both the legacy of Gutenberg and the excitement of the revolution here at KendallPRess. Our oldest equipment uses the same basic principles as the original press and we are continually exploring the Communications Revolution, as you so aptly stated it, daily.

Fresh out of college, I had heard of Arpanet because of my dealings with Lincoln Labs. I saw Mosaic (or NCSA Mosaic) but could barely fathom how it worked. Netscape Navigator was indeed easy and a whole generation of us adapted to it with interest and wonder. So, yes, 1995 is a good point in time to peg the start of this amazing revolution.

Coming from a Mobile Madness conference in NYC yesterday, I can see and touch these changes. Anyone can. Look at Windows 8 on a tablet and sidestep its other controversies and some of us can see the increasing and relentless pace fueling the need for Real Time Web communications, awareness and fast response teams in business.

You continue to lead the way with your finger right on the pulse of where business, communications, and media (formerly known as newspapers, tv, and the 'other' press) need to get to!

[David Meerman Scott]

Keith and Raul - There is no doubt that print is NOT going away! I certainly think that the winners in the future are those who can tap the revolution while still using the communications tools that have worked for decades and centuries. Heck, I still write printed books and they are important for my business!

[Elena]

Thanks for the share.

[Sambredl]

Hi David,

I think because of this new revolution we use media more often than ever! Especially digital media.

What I realized is that I spend a lot of time trying to filter information and to build up my own little channel of sources I like to read. I use an RSS Reader (Netvibes) and Evernote to keep track but I still feel like I'm missing out lots of stuff.

How do you manage your online sources?
Greetings from snowy Vienna!

[David Meerman Scott]

Hi Samuel - good to hear from you. I give myself permission to not see everything. That helps a lot. I do not see every tweet or blog post or news story that the people I follow send. Oh, and I still read a print newspaper, some print magazines, and printed books!

[Kent]

Hi David, I totally agree wit you. We are what we publish. Our content is our mindset. When people read our content, they read our mindset. That's why we need to have the right mindset, be a great thinker.

[RodneyGoldston]

Regarding reading print: I dropped my iPad last week (cracked the screen) and realized that I may never be able to be without it because the value of the books and magazine publications I have on it (including News Jacking)are now worth more than the replacement value of a new iPad.

This has got me seriously thinking about going back to print as my main source.

[David Meerman Scott]

Rodney - that is an interesting point. I'm thinking about 20 years from now. I'll have a bunch of print books in my library - but what about all the books I own on Kindle? Will I still have access to them? I have a bunch of 8-track tapes I owned when I was in high school but purchased the music I liked best from that again as CDs.

[Long Beach PC Expert]

I am working in Mobile company, I can see and feel these changes. Anyone can in every evolution right? Look at many technology brands and its other controversies and some of us can see the pace fueling the need for Web communications. I also would want to stress on awareness and fast response teams in business.