Innovation, Technology, and the Literary Marketplace

 

A great connection between the turn of the 20th century and today can be found on pages 22-29 of our text book. Innovation, technology, and the literary marketplace where evolving and influencing the culture like never before. Around that time there was the invention of the radio, light bulb, and perhaps most importantly, the communication innovations such as the telephone and automated press. These advancements in communications helped revolutionize the way people conducted their lives, traveled, and educated. The book points out that "in 1876... there were 2,500 libraries with twelve million volumes. By 1900, the number of libraries had doubled, and their holding had increased to forty million volumes."(23) This proves how detrimental the advancement of technology is to the development of a nation. Much like the years 1865-1914, our culture is experiencing another wave of technological revolution. Computers are faster than ever, phones are like small computers, and "new" technologies seem to be outdated as soon as they appear. With the invention of the E-book, people can now take hundreds of books with them wherever they go. This allows for an easier, more efficient way to pass along knowledge and experience. Much the same way the invention of the telephone drastically changed the way we communicated, the Internet has become the new platform for information sharing and communication. With the invention of the Application, better known as an App, we can now use the power of the internet on any number of devices. These Apps perform a certain task such as finding a movie or even applying to college. When speaking about the college application App and its success, Columbia stated, "Columbia received a staggering 35,000 applications. up from 26,000 the year before". (Forbes) With the evolution of this technology and innovation, we can see how these accomplishments and their predecessors really help to change the world. The recent technology boom has affected the world much the same way it did at the turn of the 20th century, and rest assured there will be more to come.