Black tea is a type of tea that is brewed to be more oxidized than the other types of tea. This gives black tea a stronger flavor that lasts significantly longer in storage than other types of tea. Fun fact about black tea is that it made up most of the tea that was dumped during the Boston Tea Party that preceded the American Revolution. It was quite revolutionary in that sense and it makes for interesting conversation over a cup of tea. But today, our tea time discussion will be over the three communication revolution rather than the American Revolution. Just like the American Revolution brought great change to world politics during its time, the communication revolutions changed how people talk during its time so let’s talk about it!

Black tea leaves that is preserved for a long time.

The three major communication revolution can be listed as such: the Phonetic Writing Revolution, the Printing Press Revolution, and the Computer Information Revolution. Each of these revolutions reshaped how humans talk and communicated through it each and as a matter of fact, we are currently living right in the middle of the Computer Information Revolution. We are in the middle of a historical moment in communication and I just find that fascinating! However, to truly understand the importance of this moment, we have to look back on the impact of the prior revolutions and how they shifted the course of human history.

Ancient Sumerian written language, one of the first of it’s kind.

Let’s start first with the phonetic writing revolution, it can best be defined as the era where humanity begins to use pictures and symbols to represent sounds and concepts. Effectively the phonetic writing revolution represented the widespread use of written language. This revolution technically began 3000 B.C with ancient Sumerian civilization but it was in 1000 B.C that phonetic writing spread across the world. The revolution began when people begin to record information and communicate thoughts through phonetic writing, especially in Ancient Egypt. For the first time in history, people were able to record complex concepts and thoughts in the form of writing so that it can be viewed by anyone at any time. Written language marked the beginning of vast development in society since it allowed for record-keeping, communications between different groups of people, and made administration easier. The innovation brought forth by the phonetic writing revolution allow for the widespread development of cities and cultures around the world. Record-keeping allowed complex administration to be performed such as taxes, code of law, and censuses that are pivotal to the development of civilization. Examples include the Ancient Sumerian Civilization such as the Sumerian city-state of Uruk, the ancient Chinese dynasties such as the Zhou Dynasty, and ancient Grecian city-states like Athens. The development of tax and law codes are the most definite contributions of phonetic writing to ancient mass media given that they are applied to the greatest number of people since they are responsible for the development of empires, nations, and cities. The Code of Hammurabi and the Bala System being the earliest representation of law and taxes from Sumerian society.

The Gutenberg Press, the innovation that jumped started the Printing Press Revolution.

The phonetic writing revolution can be credited with the creation of first complex human societies and nations in the world but the concept of written belonged in the hands of the elites and the nobility in the upper echelons of society. Writing took time since each written work needs to be created and copied by hand hence why the common people usually do not have any access to the first revolution. It is the second revolution in communication, the Printing Press Revolution where the means of written language can be mass-produced efficiently and cheaply to be put in the hands of the common people. Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press allowed text that once took years to create a single copy to only take days to mass-produce. The mass production of Gutenberg’s Bible caused an interest in language and encouraged the common folk to take up learning how to read and write, resulting in a rise of literary as people sought to learn how to read the Bible they have at hand. Now more people were able to read and write, allowing for the development of new and radical ideas that shaped society. If the phonetic revolution created society then it is the printing press revolution that reshaped society.

Martin Luther, the man credited with the Reformation.

Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses and the subsequent schism with the Church was made possible by the printing press which allows Luther’s ideas to quickly spread across the common masses, something that was impossible if the information was still copied by hand. This schism resulted in the Reformation and creation of the Protestant faith, a major upheaval in Europe at the time. Another example is the widespread usage of the printing press allowed many scientific books to be printed. This led to the Scientific Revolution which a period of great change due to the scientific development made that provided the foundation for the emergence of modern science. The printing press democratizes knowledge and allowed radical ideas to be considered by all. The Enlightenment, the development of literature, and the many societal upheavals such as the Glorious Revolution or the American Revolution were made possible all by the Printing Press Revolution.

A laptop with a Google browser open. A pivotal technology for the information revolution.

The last two revolutions altered the course of human history in their unique ways and in their own time. Written language gave birth to complex society while printed language changed the foundation of said society. This leaves the final revolution that we will be discussing today, the Computer Information Revolution, an era in history in which we live at the very forefront of. Imagine the total sum of human knowledge at the hands of anyone with an internet connection and an internet device, that is what this revolution had brought to humanity. This revolution was responsible for a new era in human history called the Information Age, a time where society and economics of multiple nations shifted towards information technology such as the modern social media that we have today. Even with the printing press, communications across the world took time and money since even books and printed information needs to cross oceans to reach other nations and areas across the world. With the advent of the internet, such information can be transmitted at a fraction of a second across the world, from New York City to Beijing, from Tokyo to Moscow, from South Africa to Canada. The impact on our society can be felt in the rise of populist sentiments across the world. The lighting speed communication offered by the internet allows people to organize demonstrations, revolutions, and talk with like-minded individuals. The Arab Spring, a name given to the wave of revolutions that swept the Arab world, was made possible by the rise of the internet in those areas. The rise of populism in the United States, Europe, and other countries was made possible by the internet as people gathered in online groups or “echo chambers” where their ideals and thoughts serve to enforce each other. It is still too early to gauge the full impact of this revolution but I do not doubt my head that it will reshape human history as did the prior two revolutions.

This blog itself is a result of the Computer Information Revolution and to think that almost everyone can reach this site from anywhere across the world is something to think about. The books on my shelf in my room are a result of the Printing Press Revolution and the society I find myself living in is a result of the Phonetic Revolution. We, humans, love to talk and socialize with each other be it over a cup of tea, texting on a phone, or calling each other. It shows in our history over we keep trying to improve how we communicate with each other.