Remember when getting a letter or postcard was a news event? What happened?

1972: Electronic Mail Introduced by Ray Tomlinson

1973: Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) is designed and in 1983 it becomes the standard for communicating between computers over the Internet.

1985: America Online debuts offering email, bulletin board updates, news and other information

1992: SMS Messaging invented, making it easier for people to communicate without having to telephone another person.

1995:

• CompuServe, America Online, and Prodigy start providing dial-up Internet access. Sun Microsystems releases the Internet programming language called Java.
• AOL Instant Messenger, also known as AIM, is an instant messaging and presence computer program which allows users to communicate in real time

1997:

• First picture message, MMS, was sent. The camera was now not just for printing pictures, but for sharing them with friends via cell phones.

• FedEx founded, offering express shipping and other options to expedite mail service

2002:

• iChat is an instant messaging software application developed by Apple Inc.

2003:

• Skype is invented and introduced; it allows users to speak with each other face-to-face over computers with videocams or to call phones from computers

2004:

• Gmail, a free, advertising-supported webmail service with support for Email clients, is a product from Google.
• Facebook is invented as a free social networking service, able to link people across the country and the world making communication fast and simple

2005:

· Gchat, also known as Google Talk, is a freeware voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) client application offered by Google Inc.

2006:

· Twitter is launched and offers a social networking and microblogging service, enabling users to send and receive messages called “tweets”

And so on...