Paper Example: The Printing Press and Internet Inventions

Since ancient times, information has been a critical part of human existence as a tool of communication. Unfortunately, exchanging messages involved massagers’ and often took long periods (weeks and even months) to deliver the message. Luckily, advancements in civilization and the boom of scientific inventions significantly reduced the time taken to send and receive messages across the globe. Such inventions as the printing press made it possible to mass-produce printed information, while the invention of the internet made it possible to have instantaneous communication. The essay endeavors to compare the influence of the printing press and the internet inventions in the dissemination of knowledge.

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The printing press was invented in the 15th century (1440 AD) by Johannes Guttenberg. Although the art of “printing” dates as far back as 868 A.D., during the Tang Dynasty, Guttenberg successfully invented the machine that allowed the mass production of books and newspapers (Roos, 2019). The invention of the printing press revolutionized how books and later newspapers were produced. Before the invention books were transcribed by hand or ‘printed’ using wood blocks the invention thus replaced woodblock printing with a more reliable, efficient, and faster method using metal bars with letters (Roos, 2019).

The peak of the printing press was experienced in the 15th century, which enabled people to share information more widely and quickly. The printing press led to the massive growth of the information industry as publishing companies and media houses during the time were able to mass-produce content to reach a wider population (Boston University, 2017). information sharing and reproduction also influenced medieval power and the monotony of information. However, the invention helped in spreading propaganda and the subsequent scientific, reformation, and renaissance revolution.

The invention of the internet – often referred to as the digital age- was an enormous revolution in information sharing and communication. Not only was the internet used as a tool to disseminate information, but it was also used as a tool to produce information (Duffy, 2000). The development of the internet had strongly been spearheaded by computer invention. This characteristic meant that people could use the computer to generate data and share it with people thousands of miles away instantly. Information could be saved and retrieved from anywhere and anytime; thus, breaking the proximity barrier (Boston University, 2017). The internet had access to a vast audience, and the speed of disseminating information had long surpassed that of the printing press.

Conclusion

In conclusion, both the printing press and the internet had a massive influence on how information was disseminated. The former made it possible to mass-produce printable information through text. The latter made it possible to not only share enormous volumes of information with a vast population but also make it instantaneous.

References

Boston University. (2017, November 16). PRINTING PRESS, DIGITAL AGE, AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS. Retrieved from Boston University: College of Communication: https://sites.bu.edu/cmcs/2017/11/16/printing-press-digital-age-and-social-movements/#:~:text=The%20printing%20press%20let%20people,Renaissance%2C%20and%20the%20Scientific%20Revolution.

Duffy, M. (2000). The Internet as a Research and Dissemination Resource. Health Promotion International, 15(4). Retrieved from 10.1093/heapro/15.4.349

Roos, D. (2019, August 28). 7 Ways the Printing Press Changed the World. Retrieved from History: https://www.history.com/news/printing-press-renaissance#:~:text=In%20the%2015th%20century%2C%20an,Civilization%20never%20looked%20back.&text=Knowledge%20is%20power%2C%20as%20the,and%20faster%20than%20ever%20before.