I receive an "On this Day in History" newsletter each day. It's fun to go back and read how certain things got their start.
On this day in history in 1838, Samuel Morse demonstrates his telegraph system for the first time in Morristown, New Jersey using Morse Code in which dots and dashes represent numbers and letters!
"The telegraph, a device which used electric impulses to transmit encoded messages over a wire, would eventually revolutionize long-distance communication, reaching the height of its popularity in the 1920s and 1930s."
In 1843, Congress funded the construction of the first U.S. telegraph line that stretched from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore and in1844, Morse sent the very first official telegram: "What hath God wrought!"
"Because telegraph companies typically charged by the word, telegrams became known for their succinct prose--whether they contained happy or sad news. The word "stop," which was free, was used in place of a period, for which there was a charge."
While Western Union introduced a creative and fun telegraph service called singing telegrams in 1933, Americans came to dread the sight of Western Union couriers during WWII because the military had been utilizing them in order to notify families when their loved ones had died.
"Over the course of the 20th century, telegraph messages were largely replaced by cheap long-distance phone service, faxes and email. Western Union delivered its final telegram in January 2006."
With each new tool invented for making communication faster and easier, we must still learn to use that tool effectively and we must remember that the communication tool does not guarantee communication success.
We must never confuse communication technology with communication effectiveness. The technology only affords the user the ability to reach more people in a shorter period of time. Each can only begin the process with the communication skills he possesses.
No matter in what form the communication may come, it has always been important that it be done effectively!
From JoJo's Purple Crayon
 Teaching communication skills the FUN way!
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