BOOK RESPONSE

BOOK RESPONSE

Summary

The rise of the information age has led to the downfall of traditional media, which has resulted in increasing the exposure of personal information. Kovarik provides an authoritative introduction to different media branches to exemplify how current trends have diversified the media (Kovarik, 2015). The revolution in communication has led to the explosion of personal data that is interconnected to historical chains of digital developments. Kovarik stipulates that revolutions play a key role in influencing our present and future trends (Kovarik, 2015). Revolution in communication is an up-to-date resource that has significantly expanded to in the contemporary world. As such, the revolution has provided learners and teachers with technical innovations that align with global trends (Kovarik, 2015). Inventions have been transfigured in the modern era and characterized by revolutions in printing, visuals, electronics, and digitalization.

The printing revolution played a key role in pivotal development history, making a major turning point between modern and medieval eras. The printing technology spread throughout Europe, spearheading the development of classical cultures during the protestant reinforcement. As such, the printing revolution led to the spread of knowledge to address challenges fronted by mass communication (Kovarik, 2015). Hence, people could not be limited to group and personal communication. Also, the visual revolution changed the way people communicate through the use of video-centric and photo applications, thus revolutionizing how people interact on social platforms. For instance, the visual revolution was characterized by the development of portraits by painters Samuel Morse due to their influence in the broadcasting revolution. More so, the digital revolution during the 21^st century greatly reduced the cost of sharing information to transform businesses in the modern era (Kovarik, 2015). Prior to the digital revolution, step-by-step progress was made from the use of symbols to written language.

Evaluation

The digital revolution has provided an improved approach towards the history of the media relative to how technological changes have led to social and ideological changes. As such, the communication revolution has been able to draw present developments by drawing insights into the past. Hence, the history of the digital revolution has provided intellectual excitement needed to spur critical thinking in communicational social constructs (Kovarik, 2015). The book provides an excellent historical summary starting with the invention of the printing press all through to the digital revolution. Hence, Kovarik creates a good judgment on why social platforms experience an increased impact in the society. The author is able to follow a typical train of thoughts which outlines the digital revolution as a strong democratizing force without reckoning its impact in the society (Kovarik, 2015).

The history of media utilizes critical aspects, including political, social, and legal factors as argument basis. As such, the book provides an in-depth on print and digital revolutions in the US to exemplify on undertaken technological strides. The fact that Kovarik reviews issues regarding the partisan press and steam printing portray his zeal to unearth developments that resulted in the digital revolution (Kovarik, 2015). Presently, the digital and visual revolution has led to the extension of the usage and application of social-oriented communication systems. Furthermore, oral culture outlined by Kovarik has helped popularize fantasy in the cinema genre relative to modern developments. Revolution in communication has led to changes in broadcasting from the time journalists created blogs and civic information systems to spread information (Kovarik, 2015) rapidly. Old ideas have been contrasted and contradicted by the author to develop new ideas required to achieve desirable changes to communication.

Gutenberg outlines how the printing revolution started through the use of an alloy made of antimony and lead. The alloy would be later melted to create an impression of different letters on a piece of paper. The pages would be printed and rearranged to form other sets of sheets (Kovarik, 2015). Kovarik shows that the first printed book being the Gutenberg looked more of a written manuscript due to its typographic style, number of lines, and column sizes. The Gutenberg printing style ensured that the printing cost was low to foster the development of other innovations. The reduction in production prices provided the idea to initiate moveable printing types. In 1483, printing by moveable types charged three florins for an equivalent of 1025 copies having a similar number of pages (Kovarik, 2015). The unique secret in printing spread across cities with Gutenberg setting printing associates in neighboring cities.

The fact that only rich could afford a bible shows how the revolution in communication has eased information monopoly (Kovarik, 2015). In modern society, information is available on a wide range of sources, which makes it easy to communicate and share information. The Bible being the first book printed by Gutenberg, shows how printing was used as a divine gift to disseminate religious knowledge. The advent of partaking media was castigated by both commercial and idealistic reasoning, which paralleled crowdsourcing as utilized in the digital age (Kovarik, 2015). However, the communication revolution achieved political impacts as it spearheaded to consolidate divergent dialects into modern-day languages such as English, Italian, and German. As such, the communication revolution has played a key role in achieving diversity and inclusivity in the modern era relative to contemporary trends.

Reflection

The book on the communication revolution aligns with my own experiences and interests in the digital revolution. I am used to the use of digital electronics right from a tender age. Digital appliances have evolved over time, creating more efficient devices that improve communication. I have experienced while using analog technologies in electronics, which did not meet communication needs. I have always wanted to use the most efficient mode of communication as it saves time and ease of delivering information. However, the modern era is characterized by the adoption of proliferating digital computers using up-to-date technologies. As such, I am a witness to the great technological strides made in the digital revolution to help address needs created by modern trends in society. Hence, the digital revolution has played a key role in promoting digital record-keeping through computer storage.

Finally, stipulations made by the author aligns to my interests to initiate developments that would bring new communication focus in the 21^st century. I acknowledge that further revolutions need to be achieved to avert security threats posed by developments in technology. I have an interest in utilizing the communication revolution to address concerns raised by special groups such as the deaf to create devices that further address their challenges. As such, I would be capable of utilizing the communication revolution to achieve the much-needed hyper-critical attitude. The book has helped me understand how an individual language capacity was used to relate basic signals and ideas symbols to achieve the communication we all enjoy.

Reference

Kovarik, B. (2015). Revolutions in Communication: Media History from Gutenberg to the digital age. Bloomsbury Publishing, USA.