The demise of the telegram
A little noticed milestone was passed January 27, 2006 when Western Union (www.westernunion.com) announced it is no longer going to process telegrams. Ironically, the announcement was made in an Internet posting, in recognition of one of the major technologies that lead to its demise.
Telegrams were a huge part of our American culture. Although Americans did not have an exclusive hold on the telegram, our movie lore and fiction is riddled with dramatic announcements that came by telegram. The Christmas classic It's a Wonderful Life has the hero saved at the last minute by a telegram announcing a credit line to cover bank losses. Our war experience brought dread to the telegram carrier, who often brought news that a family member or loved one was injured, missing, or worse.
What's even better was how telegrams looked and read. Because the user paid by the word, text was usually "economic," or highly shortened. Then there was the STOP phrase that ended each phrase, much like a radio operator would sign off to allow response. The quintessential telegram would read:
Received your message STOP taking the train at midnight STOP will be in Chicago by Tuesday STOP
Then there was the color ... telegrams were printed on yellow paper with text printed by teletype, or originally the text was pasted in strips of paper onto the sheet. The masthead across the top read WESTERN UNION on the first line and TELEGRAM on the second.
Letters, Telexes, faxes and emails finally caught up with the telegram. Our youth today will now be one more step removed from the realities of our parents and grandparents.
But before we raise our glasses in a final toast to Western Union, the news of the company's demise is grossly overstated. WU is still a major provider of wired financial transactions and an efficient way to get money to someone far away. With about $3 billion in annual revenue, Western Union Financial Services, Inc., is actually owned by First Data Corporation, a major financial service provider with headquarters in Colorado. First Data has no intention of retiring the Western Union name.
In a strange ode to telegrams, our cell phone text messaging carries some of the same abbreviated, staccato communication style. Only there will not be thousands of text messages pressed inside of Bibles, books, scrapbooks and files, as there have been telegrams over the ages.
Chris Crawford
www.justiceserved.com
Feb 11, 2006