From the beginning of time human-beings have been communicating by some means or another. Starting with simple drawings to the vast media at work in society today, it's truly amazing how things have progressed over time. Several early discoveries, I believe, played a big part in the way mass communications have developed today. The first of these is Phonetic Writing. This writing was created by the Sumerians. It was the first language that combined something written with a spoken meaning. Granted, the writings were still only symbols at this point but this was before the alphabet. By 31,000 B.C., the Sumerians had even completed a whole writing system (no other civilization had done this).
Phonetic writing was being able to understand the language but it didn't get us to our current advanced state. The way of spreading the knowledge to vast amounts of people was not yet accomplished. The most important player in that starts with the Han Dynasty. The writing of this group began with pictures, and slowly integrated the use of phonetic qualities. This is not what makes them the biggest influence on mass communication. That is because they were the first to use paper. The man responsible is Tsai-Lun.
The paper he used was very different from the kind we use today. His was bark, hemp, as well as recycled fishnets. The reason this invention flourished so much during his time was that it was cheap, useful, and also portable. Over time, the method of paper-making was sent to different countries. Once it became more common knowledge, it spread like wildfire. Paper mills also went into production to increase paper supply.
In addition to creating paper itself, the Imperial Court of the Han Dynasty organized a plan for a postal network. This would inform everyone about important news and events.
Tsai-Lun has made a big impact on the way our world is today. Without his invention of paper, mass communication may not be as effective as it is today. There have been enhancements (such as the printing press) and the way paper is made has changed greatly. Although without the initial push of the Han Dynasty in discovering paper, I doubt we would be as far as we are today.
In addition to creating paper itself, the Imperial Court of the Han Dynasty organized a plan for a postal network. This would inform everyone about important news and events.
Tsai-Lun has made a big impact on the way our world is today. Without his invention of paper, mass communication may not be as effective as it is today. There have been enhancements (such as the printing press) and the way paper is made has changed greatly. Although without the initial push of the Han Dynasty in discovering paper, I doubt we would be as far as we are today.