Communications through the ages

The richness and sophistication of human communications is often what separates us from the other inhabitants of planet Earth.  While we can’t say for certain what the various clicks, hoots, howls, and moans of our terrestrial brethren mean exactly, it is fair to say that we’re the only group on the third planet from the Sun using YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.  The infographic above follows the evolution of human communication from when earliest man sketched likenesses of himself and the world in which he lived to adorn his dwellings (cave paintings – 30,000 B.C.) to the daily newspaper made possible by Johannes Gutenberg’s movable type innovation (circa 1439) to the current era of social media ushered in by the Internet, instant messenger, blogging, and the myriad networks available for sharing and interacting with our seven billion kin.

Which of these (or other) milestones was had – or will have – the most profound effect on humanity?

Related articles:

• The power of words (marshallstanton.com)
• Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age (marshallstanton.com)
• ‘Frictionless sharing’ courtesy of Facebook (marshallstanton.com)
• Geek-out Sunday part XI: Anthropocene mapping (marshallstanton.com)
• 7 billion lives (marshallstanton.com)