李小雪

The history of communication is more than just a timeline of events. It is the story of how technological advances and innovations have revolutionized the world. Communication has been the driving force behind globalization and economic growth in the last century. Communication tools have grown exponentially since the birth of the humble telegraph around a century ago， with the availability of text， voice， pictures and video.

From telegraph to social media

Telegraph was the first form of electrical telecommunication， and dominated the scene through much of the 19th century. The invention of the telephone in 1876 facilitated the transmission of text and representation of the human voice. The 1880s witnessed the construction of telephone exchanges in major cities across the US; and by the 1950s， almost every household had a landline connection. Advances in 1970s and 80s laid the foundation for communication as we know it today， viz. mobile phones and internet.

The launch of the first 2G network in 1991 nudged the cellular networks from analogue to digital and enabled text messaging and calls， while the introduction of 3G and 4G made pictures and videos possible. Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter， which appeared as late as 2000， rode on the power of the newly-invented internet to galvanize human communication. The defining attributes of these social media platforms are speed and availability. We are more connected with people than at any point in time. The ubiquitous nature of smart phones and internet means that constant short-form contact has replaced long and less frequent interactions. The drawback of modern communication is that it has reduced face-to-face interaction.

Advancements in technology and changes in communication generally go hand in hand. Landlines displaced the telegraph and cell phones replaced landlines. The arrival of the internet opened new doors of personal communication. E-mails replaced postal mails and social media took the place of text messages. And the subsequent emergence of Facebook， Instagram， Skype and Whatsapp is enriching our lives further and making the world more integrated. Push to talk （PTT） is also gaining immense ground in todays times. What is push to talk？ PTT is a radio-like service that allows a cell phone to be used as a walkie-talkie for simple communication， with the push of a button.

Technology has redefined the way in which media communicates with people. There was a time when TV， radios and newspapers were the only available media sources. Today， smart phones and social media have simplified the process of publishing and sharing news. Technology has also rejuvenated the business environment. It has re-oriented communication between marketers and customers. Promotional campaigns are hopping onto the internet bandwagon to spread the word about their business.

Digital marketing methods， including SEO， PPC and Google Adwords， are creating brand awareness and facilitating communication with the target audience. Technology has altered public relations as companies have to constantly safeguard their online reputation as one bad news gone viral can do extensive damage within a short time.

Companies are taking the BYOD （Bring your own device） route， and this is making personal mobile phones and tablets a common sight in workplaces， and turning communication into a breeze. Employees are working on their own devices， managing tasks from home and communicating with customers anywhere in the world， leading to enhanced productivity and greater employee satisfaction. Collaboration has extended beyond the workplace as video conferencing and screen sharing allows people from all over the world to collaborate in real time. And a plethora of collaboration tools available today keep the virtual workplace connected and productive.

A new reality

Technology holds immense promise to replicate natural conversations and Virtual Reality （VR） / Augmented Reality （AR） plays an important role in this regard. Although VR has been almost synonymous with gaming， it basically brings people together in a simulated environment. Such immersive communication offers possibilities galore; friends can explore holiday plans together， architects can accompany their clients through virtual designs， and sportspeople can practice outside a regular session. VR can potentially provide a lifeline for those isolated by age and illness as well.

No matter， the tech giants have swung into action; Facebook， which already has Oculus Rift VR headset， has patented a pair of AR smartglasses， while Google has developed AR project Tango to assist people in finding their way around stores. Devices can communicate with each other via the Internet of Things. Chatbots also provide a natural language interface with customers via intelligent computer systems. The infrastructure required to support such data-intensive applications is on the way.

Verbal communication has declined dramatically in the past 2 decades due to the birth of email， texting， Facebook and Twitter. Email was the first form of communication technology. It still enjoys immense popularity; nearly 200 billion emails are sent out each day and there are three times as many email accounts as Twitter and Facebook （combined）. Email usage has in fact been bolstered by the arrival of smart phones as people usually carry their phones and do not need to log into a web browser for accessing email and social media. Texting has also increased dramatically with the onset of smart phones. More than four billion messages are sent daily through Facebook， according to techcrunch.com. The use of other social media sites such as Twitter， Pinterest， Instagram and LinkedIn has also skyrocketed in our times. Around 200 million tweets are being transmitted each day， according to dazeinfo.com. And Instagram has raced in popularity; the app has attracted more than 50 million users till date and more than 5 million photos are uploaded each day， according to dazeinfo.com.

交流史不僅僅是一張大事年表，它更是一個關于技術進步和創(chuàng)新如何變革世界的故事。過去一個世紀，交流一直是全球化和經(jīng)濟增長背后的驅(qū)動力量。近一個世紀前，電報問世，功能簡陋。但自此以后，交流工具迅猛發(fā)展，短信、語音、圖像和視頻陸續(xù)問世。

從電報到社交媒體

電報是最原始的電子通信手段，在大半個19世紀里，占據(jù)了主導地位。1876年，電話的發(fā)明促進了文本的傳輸和人類語音的呈現(xiàn)。1880年代見證了電話交換機在美國的主要城市中搭建。到了1950年代，幾乎每個家庭都安裝了固定電話。1970年代和80年代的進步為我們今天所知的手機和互聯(lián)網(wǎng)通信奠定了基礎。

1991年，第一個2G網(wǎng)絡的推出將蜂窩網(wǎng)絡從模擬推向數(shù)字化，從而有了短信和通話，而3G和4G的引入則實現(xiàn)了圖像和視頻交流。直到2000年，臉書和推特等社交媒體平臺才出現(xiàn)，它們利用新興互聯(lián)網(wǎng)的力量來促進人類交流。速度和使用便利是這些社交媒體平臺的基本屬性。如今，我們與他人的聯(lián)系比以往任何時候都多。智能手機和互聯(lián)網(wǎng)的特性是無處不在，這意味著簡短而經(jīng)常的聯(lián)系已經(jīng)取代了漫長且低頻的互動?，F(xiàn)代交流的缺點是減少了面對面的互動。

技術進步和通信變革通常是齊頭并進的。固定電話取代了電報，手機取代了固定電話?；ヂ?lián)網(wǎng)的到來為個人交流打開了新的大門。電子郵件取代了郵政郵件，社交媒體取代了短信。隨后，臉書、照片墻、Skype和瓦次普上線，使生活更加豐富，使世界更加融合。即按即通（PTT）在當下也備受青睞。何為PTT？它是一種類似于無線電的服務，只需按一下按鈕，就可以將手機用作對講機進行簡單通信。

技術重新定義了媒體與人交流的方式。曾幾何時，電視、收音機和報紙是僅有的可用媒體資源。如今，智能手機和社交媒體簡化了發(fā)布和分享新聞的過程。科技也讓營商環(huán)境煥然一新，調(diào)整了營銷人員和客戶之間的溝通。促銷活動正利用互聯(lián)網(wǎng)為公司做宣傳。

包括搜索引擎優(yōu)化、點擊付費和谷歌推廣在內(nèi)的數(shù)字營銷方法正在打造品牌知名度并推動與目標受眾的溝通。技術已經(jīng)改變了公共關系，公司必須持續(xù)維護它們的線上聲譽，因為一個壞消息的廣泛傳播可能會在短期內(nèi)造成巨大損失。

現(xiàn)在，各個公司都在走自帶設備（BYOD）路線，使得個人手機和平板電腦在職場屢見不鮮，溝通也變得輕而易舉。員工使用自己的設備工作，在家處理任務并與世界各地的客戶溝通，生產(chǎn)力和員工滿意度得以提升。視頻會議和屏幕共享為世界各地的人們進行實時協(xié)作提供了條件，因而協(xié)作已擴展到工作場所之外。如今，有大量協(xié)作工具可供使用，線上辦公得以保持相互連接、高效產(chǎn)出。

新現(xiàn)實

技術在復制自然對話方面大有可為，其中虛擬現(xiàn)實（VR）或增強現(xiàn)實（AR）發(fā)揮著重要作用。盡管VR幾近成為電腦游戲的代名詞，但其本質(zhì)是將人們聚集在一個模擬環(huán)境中。這種身臨其境的交流提供了豐富的可能性：朋友們可以一起研究假期計劃，建筑師可陪同客戶體驗虛擬設計，運動員可以在常規(guī)訓練之外操練。VR或許還能為那些因年老和疾病而孤立無援的人提供生命支撐。

無論如何，科技巨頭已經(jīng)開始積極行動了：已擁有Oculus Rift VR頭顯的臉書為一副AR智能眼鏡申請了專利，而谷歌則開發(fā)了AR項目Tango為人們在店里導航。設備可以通過物聯(lián)網(wǎng)相互通信。聊天機器人還通過智能計算機系統(tǒng)為客戶提供自然語言界面。支持此類數(shù)據(jù)密集型應用所需的基礎設施正在建設之中。

過去20年，由于電子郵件、短信、臉書和推特的誕生，人們的口頭交流急劇減少。電子郵件是通信技術的第一個成果，如今仍享有極高人氣。人們每天發(fā)送近2000億封電子郵件。電子郵件賬戶數(shù)量是推特和臉書用戶數(shù)量總和的三倍。事實上，智能手機的出現(xiàn)促進了電子郵件的使用，因為人們通常隨身攜帶手機，無需登錄網(wǎng)絡瀏覽器即可訪問電子郵件和社交媒體。隨著智能手機的興起，短信也急劇增加。根據(jù)techcrunch.com的數(shù)據(jù)，每天有超過40億條消息通過臉書發(fā)送。推特、拼趣網(wǎng)、照片墻和領英等其他社交媒體網(wǎng)站的使用量如今也直線上升。據(jù)dazeinfo.com統(tǒng)計，每天大約有2億條推文發(fā)出。此外，照片墻的人氣飆升。迄今為止，該應用程序已吸引超過5000萬用戶，每天上傳的照片超過500萬張。

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎者）