From Gutenberg to Zuckerberg to…

Surely, Johann Gutenberg couldn’t have imagined the impact the printing press with movable type would have in the field of communication. It’s interesting to see how one innovation opens the door to new forms of communication – even faster, more convenient, more accessible information – and compare the pre and post Gutenberg era. Prior to the printing press, religious establishments determined what kinds of information were distributed to the public, monopolizing the European book production. Elizabeth Hanson ( in The Information Revolution and World Politics) states the printing press had the power to weaken that monopoly and “challenge authority and influence public opinion”.

Fast-forward to today, where the dissemination of information has shifted from a top-down to a bottom-up approach, largely due to social media platforms. Information is no longer available to only those that are able to consume it, but to those that consume and shape it. With social media, anyone can create information, where it can then be reshaped and edited by others (through comments, ratings, re-posts, etc.), creating a sort of collective intelligence without the intervention of institutions (publishing houses, traditional media, etc.). There is a direct flow of information, with far less regulation than tradition media, as individuals conduct their own “investigative journalism”, simply equipped with a smartphone.

The printing press advanced our ability to share ideas; technology took it further so that it expands boundaries of space and time, completely changing the way we interact with one another. I anticipate where this growing desire for transparency in our prevalent institutions will lead us, as the power structure shifts, and technology intersects international communication.