The man, the legend, Anthony Hahn

For my final attempt to polish the timeline, I linked relevant posts together! By making ten main categories, I brought together interesting/popular topics and tied them together with links below the information and above the source citations.

I started by searching for keywords in the “all posts” field (thanks for the tip Christine), and gathered them all in a word document.  I then went to each of the posts and edited them with the links to other relevant posts.  The entire process took more time than I had anticipated, mostly because I took on the idea without thinking about how deep it could get.  Initially I was looking at adding around 100+ links, but with my final organization, I cut it down to a logical 56.

Of course, I had to throw in the iPhone vs. Android for one of the topics! Here’s the breakdown. . .

• iPhone to iPhone vs. Android
  •  http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/21/droid/
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/21/iphone/
• Wireless Telephone Communication
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/07/worlds-first-wireless-telephone-call/
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/18/the-cell-phone/
  •  http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/21/2g-networking/
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/21/3g-networking/
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/19/first-4glte-network-launches/
  •  http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/19/worlds-first-3g-network/
• Ancient Communication
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/21/chinese-oracle-bone-script/
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/21/cave-paintings/
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/21/djembe-drum/ ‎
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/20/first-forms-of-fired-clay-tablets-used/
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/20/images-and-carvings-on-walls-discovered/
• Social Networks
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/21/first-coffee-house-in-england/
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/15/sixdegrees-com/
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/15/friendster-com/
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/15/linkedin-comd/
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/15/myspace-com/
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/18/facebook/ 
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/18/twitter/
• Web Browsers
  •  http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/10/mosaic-web-browser-introduced/
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/21/netscape-founded/
  •  http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/21/internet-explorer/
  •  http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/21/opera-browser-developed/
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/22/safari-browser/ ‎
  •  http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/22/google-chrome/
• “Computor” History
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/19/charles-babbage-and-the-analytical-engine/
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/19/ada-lovelace-first-computer-programmer/
  •  http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/21/first-computer/
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/19/mary-allen-wilkes/
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/18/computer-is-times-machine-of-the-year/
• Television
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/06/first-use-of-the-word-television/
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/22/iconoscope/
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/22/dr-e-f-w-alexanderson-demonstrates-moving-pictures-via-radio/
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/22/first-demonstration-of-colored-television-in-the-united-states/
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/22/first-successful-test-of-the-dissector-tube/
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/22/farnsworth-transmits-first-recognizable-image/
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/21/philo-farnsworth-demonstrates-the-first-electric-television/
• Radio
  •  http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/22/1st-radio-broadcasts/ 
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/21/nikola-tesla-files-a-patent-for-radio/
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/21/the-first-u-s-radio-law/
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/21/long-wave-radio/
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/21/the-transistor/ ‎
  •  http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/21/fm-portable-two-way-radio/ ‎
  •  http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/20/first-fm-station-goes-on-air/
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/20/discovery-of-the-fm-frequency/
• Photography
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/19/first-photograph-developed-that-did-not-fade/
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/10/03/kodak-begins-selling-kodak-brownie/
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/22/first-published-illustration-from-a-camera-obscura/
• Journalism
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/07/acta-diurna-the-first-daily-gazette/
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/18/weekly-gazettes-distributed-in-venice/
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/19/yellow-journalism/
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/19/the-rise-of-newspapers/
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/19/muckrakers-and-investigative-journalism/
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/20/cnn-ireport-founded/
  • http://infoagetimeline.umwblogs.org/2011/09/21/the-age-of-new-journalism/

So I find myself working diligently on this final project that I’m discovering is going to put me in the dirt.  I decided to take on the daunting task of linking relevant posts on the timeline, completely missing the fact that more or less, THEY CAN ALL BE LINKED IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER! What a discovery.  So here’s to sleepless nights until Wednesday night while I try and figure out how many links are too many links, or a way to narrow down just what constitutes enough relevancy for linking two or more together.

Edit: I’ve finally figured it out.  In my mess of organization, I’ve picked out ten major topics and decided to focus on linking events within these ten topics.  This should clean up my project and give it a bit of organization among the 200+ events.

This week we had to hammer out what it was exactly we were going to finish the semester up with by making a decision on how to improve upon the timeline.  While initially I was undecided on what steps to take, me and Dr. McClurken agreed that I would run through each and every timeline event and link relevant entries to one another.  For instance, I would obviously link the first wireless telephone call by means of the photophone with the first cell phone call.  These could also possibly be linked to the first wireless radio transmission.  This initially seemed like a relatively easy task, but I underestimated the sheer number of entries on the timeline.  It will prove to be a challenge, but hopefully one worthy of the current timeline standards. My next post will include all of my linked entries, along with an overview of the plights I faced while making this modification.

So the documentaries are finally finished, and with their completion some hard lessons have been learned.  Probably the single hardest challenge may have been getting all four people together at once with most of us having other full time jobs or engagements. The print add was an assignment that we were able to collaborate about without actually having to meet for, but in order to get all the pieces of the documentary together it was pivotal that we were all together at one time.  Another issue that we ran into and one that changed my mind about windows live movie maker was formatting differences.  Evidently windows LIVE movie maker was dumbed down to make creating a film easy for even an infant, and in doing so the new iteration of movie maker lost a lot of its key features.  for instance, adding music along with a voice over is impossible with windows LIVE movie maker, and even recording a voice over is disabled.  To overcome this and many other frustrations, I downloaded windows movie maker 2.6 for windows XP and finished up the documentary on there, adding the music that can be heard throughout the video as a layer over the “finished”product created with LIVE movie maker.

Overall the documentary was a solid success.  With more time and movie editing knowledge, more of our creative ideas could have come into play.  Originally I wanted this video to be Bill Nye the Science Guy-like, with cut shots and quips that were seemingly irrelevant but played into the overall comedy of the clip.  We negated this idea for lack of time and creative resources.  But I do thank the class and Dr. McClurken for the ability to do such a creative and unbelievably challenging project.  They all came out with a certain creative flair. Luckily this week is Thanksgiving break and will allow us to take one last deep breath before heading into the last few weeks of the semester.

So for my print add group’s topic, we chose to research and create a Tupperware add meant to recruit women to be Tupperware dealers.  While there weren’t any adds that we found of the same nature, we felt that it fit well with the theme we were after and that it wouldn’t be a stretch to create an add of this nature from scratch.  The purpose behind this idea was that Tupperware parties acted as a sort of social gathering for post war suburban women who were delighted to find social networks after being displaced from the job force.

In our group, I was the photo editor.  I also initially proposed the idea, which was slow to be received.  It was a long shot, but the more we talked about Tupperware as a spread of information, the more sense it made.  Claire was quick to head to the library and start initial research, while Ken rushed to a friend’s house to snap some real life shots of some “vintage” tupperware.  Christine and myself began searching for photos to use to put together for that perfect vintage 1950’s add look.

I think the hardest part of the project was not only finding the time to meet up during fall break, but finding a design for the add that everyone agreed on.  After landing on a design, we then worked on the slogan.  I initially just ran with something as improv to get an idea of fonts and sizes, but we ended up sticking with the main parts, only making small adjustments to add the benefits of selling tupperware in the middle.

To conclude, I am truly looking forward to this next project and the ability to embark on a project that I have NO experience with what so ever, film.  I have never touched a film editing program, so it should be exciting to see what we can come up with.

Print Add for Dr. McClurken's HIST 471 Class

Tupperware add depicting the social aspect of being involved in the sales of Tupperware products.  Tupperware was the first company to involve women in the sale of their products, enabling women to gather at “Tupperware parties” and acting as a catalyst to the spread of information in suburban America in the post-war era.

Sources:

Baker, Joan. A Man is Not a Financial Plan: Investing for Wealth and Independence. Australia: Allen & Unwin, 2007.

Clarke, Alison. Tupperware: The Promise of Plastic in 1950s America. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1999.

Cockram, Andrew, Rachel Morris, Allison Corbet, and Michelle Treseler. “Tupperware,” Tupperware Home, http://web.wm.edu/americanstudies/370/2007/sp4/home.htm (accessed October 17, 2011).

Peven, D.E., “The Use of Relgious Revival Techniques to Indoctrinate Personnel: The Home-Party Sales Organizations,” The Sociological Quarterly9, no. 1 (January 1968). http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1533-8525.1968.tb02290.x/full (accessed October 17, 2011).

Tupperware Brands Corporation, “Five Decades of Change,” Tupperware. http://order.tupperware.com/pls/htprod_wwwcan/tup_company.decades?fv_item_category_code=80000 (accessed October 22, 2011).

Image Sources Used in Add and as Inspiration:

1950’s Fashion Ladies, April 2011. Available from The Fashion eZine http://fashion.lilithezine.com/1950s-Fashion.html. Image URL: http://fashion.lilithezine.com/images/1950s-Fashion-01.jpg (accessed October 17, 2011).

Tupper Logo, July 1947. Available from Logos Database http://www.logosdatabase.com/logo/tupper_71528837. Image URL: http://logosdatabase.com/logoimages/71528837.jpg (accessed October 17, 2011).

Tupperware Logo. Available from University of William and Mary’s American Studies 370 Tupperware Web Page http://web.wm.edu/americanstudies/370/2007/sp4/home.htm. Image URL: http://web.wm.edu/americanstudies/370/2007/sp4/tupperwarelogo.jpg (accessed October 17, 2011).

The past week has proven to be an interesting one for me. With the deadline for the group project originally set for the day back from fall break, me and my group scrambled to meet up twice over break to hammer out the details.  aside from the technology lab stonewalling us, we had a few productive meetings.  Since we decided on a print ad, it became inevitable that someone was going to have to do some photo editing, and since I was the only one with photoshop experience, that task fell to me.  Outside of a few car photos that I’ve edited, I’m pretty much an amateur at photoshop, but within an hour on the add I had my bearings back and was able to knock out what my group members feel is a solid piece of work.  Hopefully you guys as a class feel the same as well.  Overall I have about 4.5 hours in the add, and am going to go back and nit pick it some more to ensure that I have designed what should replicate an add from the 1950’s quite well.

In the readings for yesterday’s class, I loved how P.T. Barnum went above and beyond the social standard for advertising with outlandish and sometimes down right strange ways to advertise his shows and exhibits.  These ranged from self sabotage with letters to local newspapers debunking his exhibits to a man on the streets of New York city, shuttling bricks to different street corners on the same block, all while maintaining utter silence and entering Barnum’s museum at pre-determined times to draw curious onlookers.

In response to a comment made in class about a form of advertising seen in Secobeck a few years back involving paper bags, today, I saw another memorable form of advertising just outside of Monroe.  There were numerous blue flags placed in all of the bushes outside begging the lucky flag prospector to bring said flag to a predetermined place at a predetermined time.  Like Barnum, the creator of these mystery flags kept the details short, creating curiosity and tempting the discoverer to come and see what might be found at the given place, much like the curious onlookers who stumbled upon the brick shuttler in New York.   Seems like the groundbreaking advertising styles Barnum created still live on in small ways today.  No bearded women, just UMW students.

P.T. Barnum’s Bearded Lady

Image Source: http://women-health-info.com/162-Hirsutism-Esau-Woman.html

Of all of Alexander Graham Bell’s inventions, the one that initially comes to mind is the telephone.  It was a groundbreaking invention that made communication between cities and even states possible.  What few know is that Bell was also working on another invention, one that would make coast-to-coast information transmission possible, wirelessly.  This invention used nothing but the light produced by the sun to transfer voice from a transmitter to a receiver.  The photophone, as it became known, would redirect sunlight against a hair thin mirror, which vibrated as the sound waves from your voice hit against the back of it.  As this was happening, the waves of light were then transferred across the air to the receiver, which of course had to be in direct line of the transmitter.  Bell and his assistant Charles Sumner Tainter viewed this new invention as greater than the telephone.  Their invention would enable the transmission of information without the need for running miles of numerous cables through lakes and across rough terrain.  This also became the precursor to modern day fiber-optic communications.

The first call with the photophone was made on April 1, 1880, from the roof of the Franklin School in Washington, D.C. to Bell’s laboratory window, which was roughly seven hundred feet away. After the successful transmission of sound, Bell was thrilled.  He sent his father a letter stating, “I have heard articulate speech produced by sunlight!  I have heard a ray of the sun laugh and cough and sing!”  He was so proud in fact that he wanted to name his second daughter after the invention.  Bell had hoped that the photophone would negate telephone lines and make ship to shore communication possible.  Unfortunately for Bell and Tainter, the euphoria would be short lived.

Bell and Tainter had invented an apparatus ahead of its time, where people still used candles to light houses and relied primarily on horses for work and transportation.  In 1880, some people still viewed cabled phones with a sort of primitive skepticism.  People were skeptical of such technology and along with that, the duo had to fight against environmental forces as well.  Much like light from the sun, when fog, snow, and rain move in very little light can penetrate the density of the obstructions.  Unlike its modern counterparts like fiber-optic cable, it was unshielded, leaving it completely at the mercy of the weather.  Bell Laboratories continued to try and improve on the photophone long after its invention, hoping to produce one with enough power to negate the weather forces and become a reliable form of communication.  Regrettably, this never came true.

Bibliography

Bell, Alexander G. “On the Production and Reproduction of Sound by Light.” The American Journal of Science 20 (1880): 305-324.

Bell, Alexander G. 1880. Apparatus For Signaling and Communicating, Called “Photophone”. U.S. Patent 235,199, Filed August 28, 1880, and Issued December 7, 1880.

Bell, Alexander G. 1880. Photophone-Transmitter. U.S. Patent 235,496, Filed September 25, 1880, and Issued December 14, 1880.

Bruce, Robert V. Bell: Alexander Bell and the Conquest of Solitude, New York: Cornell University Press, 1990.

Carson, Mary K. Alexander Graham Bell: Giving Voice To The World, New York: Sterling Publishing, 2007.