The Typewriter
First developed as a tool for recording the written word, the Typewriter was “clunky” and “dirty” relying on a dial rather than keys to function. It emerged towards the end of the Industrial Revolution, meaning it would have been in direct competition with other technologies, such as the Automobile or the Telephone. Its “Q-W-E-R-T-Y” keyboard, first developed in the 1870’s, made it a commercial success and was later adapted by other manufacturers.
“The ‘QWERTY’ keyboard was devised as a means of keeping commonly recurring sequences of letters like ‘th’ and ‘an’ apart so typewriter keys did not stick.”
Unlike most media artefacts, the Typewriter was able to adapt well to technical, economic and social change. Its “standardised” design was commonly used by women as a “machine for the home” and it was now simpler to use, considered efficient and reliable as it did not rely on electricity to run. It became a product of Gender Politics (Johnson, 2000) as typing classes were set up to help women enter paid work, introducing a Non-Patriarchal Capitalist ideology into a Domestic Consumer Economy. For women, Typewriters slowly became the “… tools of personal liberation… and political struggle.”
The industrialisation of electricity saw the birth of the “electronic” typewriter that appealed to a whole new market. The “clickety-clack” of the old machine was favoured by the consumer, yet it relied on an electric motor to function. It appealed to local businesses as an easy, more efficient way to communicate and therefore, more and more were being manufactured. It became a product of Capitalist Consumption used to “organise an efficient economy.”
During the war, the “Enigma” typewriter was introduced to transcribe coded information and allow secure communication. Originally manufactured for the business market, the Typewriter now became a “significant asset” in the war effort. “The public… will pull what it wants from Digital Media, rather than accept what is pushed at it by media giants." Kittler (1943-2011) describes Media Technology as the “misuse of military equipment”. Otherwise known as “The Military Entertainment Complex”, he describes how technology in the modern world is used for entertainment purposes. Typewriters became popular soon after the war as they slowly “… set the conditions for social change and progress.”
Companies began to invest in the product as its popularity rose. IBM introduced the “Selectric” Typewriter in 1961, which included multiple fonts that tailored to the consumer’s aesthetic. “If scientific advance often takes the form of a logical or associative progression of thought, it is also crucially shaped by the wider context of society." Already challenged by new discoveries, it had been redefined to suit the competition of personal computers dating back two decades. It’s new “standardised” design made it jam-free and reliable. It was a product of progress that determined a new modern condition. The Typewriter had gone from being a key to business communication to an easily accessible way to be creative; to communicate thoughts and ideas which “… altered our basic perceptions of reality.”
By the 1970’s, the Typewriter became an early example of converged media as it was incorporated into computer terminals. Printers were attached to allow convenience and text could now be edited on screen as opposed to the original “trial and error”. Its new memory storage device allowed for more freedom and modernised conventions were introduced, such as sentence spacing and tab indents. As a response to new social conditions, there became “an increased awareness of… change, not just as abstractions, but as lived experiences … of the function and process of social communication.”
As new technologies emerged, the Typewriter became a key aide to communication that prompted social change. Its history has greatly influenced the future of computing, mainly responsible for the keyboard layout that is evident today. Marshall McLuhan (1986) states that we should “look at the present through a rear-view mirror” and from a technological determinist viewpoint, we can see that it played a significant part in providing power to the people and with it came a new sense of freedom.
References:
• Baker, N. (2010) “Why Do We All Use QWERTY Keyboards?” [Online]
Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10925456 (26/02/2012)
• Curran, J. & Seaton, J. (2010) “Power Without Responsibility” : Routledge
• Hallows, N. (2008) “Why Typewriters Beat Computers” [Online]
Available from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7427237.stm (18/02/2012)
• Lycett, A. (2011) “The Enigma ‘Typewriter’” [Online]
Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/enigma_01.shtml (22/02/2012)
• Williams, R. (1974) “Television”: Routledge
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