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1.Exceptforin-person,speech-basedcommunication,itcouldbearguedthatallcommunicationistechnologicallybased.Withtheadventofwrittenlanguage--itselfakindoftechnology--humanityexperimentedwithvaryingformsoftechnologytorecordtheirthoughts.Fromthestonetablettoparchmenttotheprintingpresstocomputers,ourmethodsofwrittencommunicationhavecontinuedtochange,althoughseveralremaininusesimultaneously.Similarly,we'vecomealongwayfromEdison'sinventionsofthephonographandtelegraphinthe1870sandAlexanderGrahamBell'sinventionofthetelephonein1876.Yetmanyofusstillusetelephonesaswellascellphones,eventhoughthelatterhasbeeninuseonabroadscaleformorethan20years(thankfullyhavingslimmedthemselvesdownalongtheway).Inmanyrespects,withtheproliferationofcommunicationstechnologies,itincreasinglyfallstoeachindividualtochoosewithwhichofthesetechnologiesheorshewillengage.Afterall,it'snotasifthereisashortageoftechnologicalgadgetryouttherefortheusing.Inourageofabundance,it'sasmuchofaphilosophicalchoiceasapracticaloreconomicone.Andforallofthehypeofeachnewinnovationwithincommunicationstechnologies,old,orlegacy,technologiesstillpersist.Amassiveamountofdataistransmittedthroughfiberopticcablesandstoredonharddrives,yetoldertapedrivesandeven-oldertelephonewiresstillhavetheiruses.Mechanicaltechnologiescanremainasuseful,orcheap,aselectronictechnologies.Atthesametime,communicatingthroughanoldtechnology--say,bysendingaletterthroughsnailmail--nowproducesasenseofnostalgia,or,asthecasemaybe,impatience,insomepeople.Thatcanbeitsownbenefit,andareasonforlookingtothepast.2Overthepasttwodecades,technologyhastransformedcommunicationbymakingitmoreandmorepervasive.Advancesincomputerandtelephonetechnologyhavecreatedanexplosioninthewayswecanreacheachother:byfax,cellphone,e-mail,textmessage,blog,LinkedInandFacebook.Isittoomuchofagoodthing?AsurveycommissionedintheU.K.foundthatrespondentsspentanaverageof3hoursand45minutestalkingonthephone,e-mailingandsendingtextmessages[source:BBCNews].Someofthesecommunicationtoolsallowustoworkmoreefficiently;forexample,amanagercansendameetingagendatothewholeofficewithonee-mail,aprocessthatoncewouldhaverequiredtypingamemo,makingcopies,anddistributingthemtoeachdesk.Othernewformsofcommunicationcreateasmanyproblemsastheysolve.Facebookisapopularwayforfriendsandfamilymembersacrosstheworldtostayintouch.Butitalsoencouragesconnectionsbetweenpeoplewhowouldnototherwisebetalkingtoeachother,addingtoapervasivesenseofinformationoverload.Anotherconcernabouttheever-increasingamountofcommunicationisthatitrepresentsthetriumphofquantityoverquality.TextingandTwittering,bytheirverynatures,valueshort,punchystatementsoverlengthy,thoughtfulanalysis.Suchformsofcommunicationmaywellcontributetoanoveralldumbing-downofconversationsandtheascendanceofimpersonalupdatesoverpersonalinteractions.IntheirbookBlur:TheSpeedofChangeintheConnectedEconomy,authorsChrisMeyerandStanDavissaythatthrivinginthenew,communication-basedeconomymeanslearninghowtofilteralltheinformationwereceiveinamoreefficientmanner[source:PBS].Thesecret?Tousetherighttools(suchaseffectivespamblockers)tokeepoutdistractingmessages,sowecanfocusontheonesthatmatter.3Technologyhasreshapedcommunicationbydemocratizingdiscoursewithinsocieties.Butthenewesttechnologiesaren’talwaystherealgame-changers;sometimeswhatwethinkofasoldtechnologiesareevenmoreimportant,saysJonB.Alterman,directoroftheCSISMiddleEastProgram.Forexample,justbeforetheEgyptianuprisinginearly2011,hundredsofthousandsofEgyptiansjoinedFacebookgroupsthatbitterlycomplainedaboutthestatusquo.ButwhenprotestsbeganonJanuary25,theInternetandsocialmediaonlybroughtafewhundredEgyptianactivistsintothestreets.Theirchantsabouteconomicdisparityswelledthenumberstoafewthousand.Oncetheyreachedafewthousand,theybecameaverifiabletelevisionevent,andoncetelevised,theirnumberswelledtothemillions.WhenalJazeerastartedcoveringtheEgyptianprotests,themultimediacoalescedintoamessageofrevolutionthattouchedthemajorityofEgyptians.Thenumbersspeakvolumes:inanInternationalRepublicanInstitutepollinApril,84percentofEgyptianspolledsaidtelevisionwastheirmostimportantsourceofinformationabouttheprotests,onlysixpercentpointedtoFacebook.Twitterdidn’tevenregister.Formoreabouthowtechnologyhasdemocratizedpoliticaldiscourse,seeTheRevolutionWillNotBeTelevisedintheMarch2011MiddleEastNotesandCommentnewsletter.4Technologyhashelpedusstorelargeamountsofinformationwithease.Wecanstorefilesincomputersratherthanfilefolders,andwecansende-mailinsteadofmailingpaperdocuments.WirelessnetworkingtechnologyenablesustoaccesstheInternetwithouthavingtobeconnectedwithcables.CellphonesandBlackBerrysenableustocommunicatefasterandsenddocumentswithouthavingtouseadesktopcomputer.However,manybelievethatcommunicationtechnologyhascreatedanenvironmentinwhichspeedhastakenprecedenceoveraccuracy.Badgrammarhabitsaboundintheageofe-mailandtexting.Apromotionalstudyfoundthat85percentof5,000businesscorrespondencesampleshadatleastonespellingorgrammaticalerror[source:Pirozzolo].Advancesintechnologyhaveledtothebirthofmanynewmethodsofelectroniccommunicat