The history and evolution of written communications

This post is dedicated to ranting, ranting about the need to sound professional almost all the time.

1. Letter in a bottle
We all want things to be in order, in a certain format/style, wherever, whenever. Does growing up really mean that one has to give up style in expressing oneself? This was during Newton's times.

2. The Telegraph
One may argue that the concept of a standard universe was destroyed along with Napoleon Bonaparte. It did, however, come back with Otto von Bismarck, as he gloriously led Prussia into victory in 1871. That to me dawned the glorification of machines. A British would argue otherwise, that the Industrial Revolution that happened in Britain made use of sophisticated machines since the start of the 19th century, and even spread technology of steam and rail to Europe and India.

3. The rise of the Speed-post
Speed-post (the snail mail in its fastest form) travel by air. In my primary and secondary school, which really wasn't so long ago, I had learnt how to write a formal and informal letter. That was how speed-post worked. You either write a formal letter, or an informal one.

4. The rise of pager
Message in the shortest form. You can page a person by dialling the receiver's pager number (which is like a mobile number). What the person does is to find a public phone to return your call. Occasionally, "happy birthday" or codes can be sent.

5. The rise of the email
Email started to get popular in the late 1980s. It was so new, nobody really used it. When someone did use it, it was for leisure purposes, for the novelty of it. It was the new cool, I remembered. I also remembered typing my friend's name in the "To:" field. Amazing. Even a three-year-old knows how to email now, I kid you not, without making the mistakes I made when I was 11.

6. MSN: The rise of instant chat
It was in the 1990s, when it became such a big thing. I was in primary school, and dating a boy in class, through MSN chats. All sorts of crap language we used. lol. nvm la, stil gt tmr 2 solv e prb.

7. Ding-dong! Sms!
In case you're wondering, that's a famous ringtone for SMS in Singapore. SMS got really popular in the late 1990s. They were used for informal purposes. Texting became a big thing only after Starhub started its 700-free-sms-per-month scheme for $10, in 2003. SMS language was very popular for a period of time.

8. Friendster - the prehistoric Facebook
That was a platform where one could add as many friends as one could find, to show off to the world how popular one was. The profile page could be decorated, and description could be made. It was in the beginning years of the millennium.

9. Blog!
Gone were the days when one had only one audience. A blog offers incredible viewership. Initially started as an online diary, it quickly deviated towards pro-blogging - making money, and sharing expertise online.

10. What's App/BBM
If you don't know what BBM and what's app are, you're quite outdated. BBM stands for Blackberry Messenger, which allows one to instantly write to a Blackberry user overseas for free (similar to email, but friendlier). What's app is an application for groups of people from anywhere in the world to "msn" and sms at the same time. One can share pictures, weblinks and whatnot, and one sends it to another person's phone number instead of email address. Currently, it's still very new, and considered cool to be part of.

Alas. I'm still cool. But I really dislike the fact that there are so many rules in writing that has evolved with non-verbal, written communications. I think creativity and personality are really important, and I'm not prepared to give them up in my letter formats and styles.

Long Distance Relationship: A Brave New World

Check this youtube clip out if you've the time. I didn't feel very much for it. What fascinates me was:
1. He's from Singapore - Ah! We've a champion over here! :) In love too!
2. They were together for 2 years without having met - Respect to the guy (and the girl) for being faithful despite all that
3. THE COMMENTS - it's amazing; I never knew there were so many LDRs around!

As a person who have seen too much melodramas of life, I don't believe in LDRs. For a long time, not even in "happily ever after". And there's been a global problem, especially amongst first world countries:

People are spending less time with humans than with computers, this really could be the new norm. This threatens one of the longest traditions humans have - love. It's quite exciting to know that human behaviours are evolving with technology, even in this respect. Wasn't love supposed to be spending quality time, buying gifts, doing sweet things for each other, other than the obvious hand-holding? Human behaviors are evolving so quickly that children are typing faster and faster, processing stuff in their mind like computers, but ah, they're less able to interact with other children, especially in Singapore, for the lesser half of the society.

I do wonder if it's possible to father a child over Skype, assuming that nobody cheats. With the entering of credit card details, one can so easily buy gifts for the other party. My friend's friend in Australia bought my friend in India FLOWERS and got it delivered to her doorstep.

Perhaps one day, all our spouses would be online, since it's so much easier to live with someone when the person isn't around 24/7 to create situations with high tension or generate conflict. Perhaps life in reality is all work, from 3 years old when one gets into kindergarten to 23 years old when one is in university, and then work, and work, and work some more.

Perhaps the definition of family would be challenged, or redefined within the next 20 years. Maybe there would be creation of platforms where families can all come together in one single portal, like WhatsApp, and share their lives. Yeah, with the mobile phone, your family is just a call away.

Perhaps people could and would love more, with the rise of modern technology.

Perhaps cheating would be accepted in the near future - men cheating physically, women cheating emotionally, whatever. Perhaps computer skills and how one designs his/her facebook is more important than how one dresses up. Apparently, there are nice people desperately looking for "soul mates" and partners to date, but to no avail.

Whatever, I'm glad I found someone I really love, someone whom I wish (for now) to spend my life with.