EOTO Personal Presentation

The Typewriter 

 For the Each One Teach One project, the technological advancement I covered was the typewriter. Unlike other options chosen, this was a topic I really did not know a whole lot about which allowed me to gain lots of new knowledge about. In my research, I learned information about who the inventors are, the impacts they had on the way people communicated, what the typewriter led to as far as technological advancements in the modern day,  the issues it was trying to solve, and some negative impacts the typewriter had. 

Communications impact 

The first commercial typewriter was invented by Christopher Latham Sholes, Samuel Soule, and Carlos Gidden in 1867. During this time period, people were in need of a way to communicate more efficiently. In the current time period, written letters were the best way to communicate. The problem with this is it was slow and could have errors throughout. Thus the typewriter was created to help solve these problems. As time passed and the typewriter made its way into offices and homes around the country, the electric typewriter was created in 1920. With the electric typewriter, it was much faster and more efficient for its users, a positive impact on all parties involved. I believe the advancements it made in communication are the is the most important impact the typewriter had during its time period.  

Organization Benefits and Job Opportunities 

As the typewriter became more popular, it was used more in business settings. With the typewriter, businesses were able to utilize the typewriter to more uniformly and efficiently organize themselves, rather than all handwritten papers. They were able to standardize letters and documents which was greatly beneficial. Another important factor with typewriters was their durability. Originally typewriters were built out of heavy metals, making them very durable but maybe not so mobile. As the product evolved, slimmer and more portable designs were created. Not only did the typewriter help businesses, but it also created job opportunities for individuals in the workplace. The ability to type became a valuable skill to have, businesses now needed typists and secretaries to assist them. Typewriters were a common item seen in businesses for the next 100 years. It seems safe to say this invention had a major impact on the way communication and document standardization is in the modern day. 

Negative Effects 

Throughout my research almost all of the impacts the typewriter had were positive. Interestingly, one negative effect I did not account for was the noise in which the machine made. Each keystroke made a loud click sound. This could lead to a disruptive environment when multiple people are all typing away at once. I still see this problem in the modern day of people clicking away on their keyboards, so it looks like this effect is around for the long run. 

The Falloff 

The falloff of typewriters began in the 1980's. During this time period, the rise of personal computers surged, as well as the word processing system that came along with personal computers. This obviously was bound to happen to the typewriter as technology continued to advance, however, I believe the typewriter was a major stepping stone to how we type and communicate with each other today.