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Media Arts Research Assignment
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Television
The first invention that I am looking at is the invention of the television. It was invented by Philo Farnsworth and it has been revolutionary. It was revolutionary and still is because humans spend on average, 5 hours a day watching TV. Something created almost 100 years ago still garners humans' attention for 5 hours a day!? This invention changed the way that communications and media arts function for the entire world. That is why I chose this as my first invention. -
The photocopier
The next invention that I chose to focus on was the photocopier. I chose it because you could take one photo and copy it until you had 500 replicas of that photo! Not only was that crazy for its age, but it was also very useful. You were now able to now take one poster advertising a garage sale, and turn it into 50 to then post around the town. The photocopier has recently lost some of its popularity due to things being brought online, but when a pet is lost, there isn't a better solution. -
The Jukebox
The jukebox is a great example of media. It played a big part in broadcasting music to the public, and all it took was a quarter or a dime. It was first imagined in the late 1890s but wasn't finalized and popularized until the 1940s which is why I chose this. -
The video tape recorder
The invention that I chose for the 1950s was the videotape recorder or the VTR for short. Many younger people may not remember this but I guarantee that all their parents to remember them. The inventor was Charles Ginsburg and he made it so that instead of keeping great television shows in your memory, you could record and replay the show later, whenever you want! This revolutionized tv as we knew it and paved the way for a new age of media consumption. -
BASIC computer language
Here at the middle point, I have chosen to explore the invention of BASIC computer language, which stands for Beginner's All Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code. It was written/invented at Dartmouth College by mathematicians John George Kemeny and Tom Kurtzas as a teaching tool. It started the new wave of technology as this was the first real coding language that was invented. I also love code so this is why I chose it. -
Pong
I love video games, so this next invention was an easy pick. Pong was invented in 1972 by Allan Alcorn and it was the very first video game ever created. It was a simple game that was pretty much tennis between two players where you try to be the first person to get to ten. It was amazing though because it started one of the biggest forms of media that is still around to this day. I myself spend hours a day playing video games so I cannot tell you just how influential this invention was. -
Camcorders
Camcorders are my next pick. They were invented in the early 1980s and played a massive part in recording and sharing footage of anything in the 1980s and 90s. The camcorder was a massive upgrade from the VTR because it was as if you took the VTR, put it into a camera, and made it easy to hold. This was the first big camera and although it isn't very popular anymore, it paved the path for recording. -
The nintendo 64
The Nintendo 64 is one of the most beloved home consoles even to this day, so I figured I had to include them. This was invented in 1996 and was the first major console for families around the world. Even to this day, people still purchase emulators for this console because it included hundreds of games, all very revolutionary for the time. Like I said before, I love video games so I knew that I had to include it in this timespan. -
YouTube
Even though this really wasn't that long ago, back in 2005 distributing and producing videos was very very hard. Enter YouTube. This was the first big video website and nowadays I couldn't imagine my life without it. Right now, I am watching YouTube whilst creating this! Humans collectively spend 500 million hours watching YouTube every day. Something that influential had to be included here. Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim created YouTube which means we have so much to thank them for. -
The Chromebook
The final invention that I have chosen is the Chromebook. I chose this because I am literally writing this on my Chromebook. The Chromebook was invented in 2011 and has been a massive tool for students since then. They are cheaper than actual PCs, more durable than tablets, and easier for teachers to control than phones. It is clearly the perfect choice and it has been used in schools everywhere consistently since its invention.