Is Facebook a Rip Off of 16th Century Academics
January 28, 2013
To us, it seems Facebook has taken over the Internet. The giant social network that promotes sharing data and creating a web of relationships is a real innovation, rising above the crowd online and off. Or is it a ripoff of a 16th century monk? After reading “Facebook Concept Used by 16th Century Scholars, Researchers Discover” on Phys.org, we are not so sure.
The article states that our obsession with social networking is nothing new. Researchers say this idea of creating groups or networks and then exchanging information dates back to the 16th century where young scholars created nicknames and developed mottos and emblems to form groups where information was shared. We learn:
“Professor Jane Everson, Principal-investigator, said: ‘Just as we create user names for our profiles on Facebook and Twitter and create circles of friends on Google plus, these scholars created nicknames, shared – and commented on – topical ideas, the news of the day, and exchanged poems, plays and music.
‘It may have taken a little longer for this to be shared without the internet, but through the creation of yearbooks and volumes of letters and speeches, they shared the information of the day.’”
The discovery was made when a team of academics were cataloging the works of the Italian Academies. Too bad for the monks, this copycat system is alive and thriving with no thanks to these early scholars. We think the similarities between our societies is fascinating and salute these early monks for the innovation.
Andrea Hayden, January 28, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search
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