Tools of Communication

Communication has been evolving through time, challenging the limitations of space and mediums. What are the stories behind and beyond the communication devices, platforms and networks we are using?

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Chatterbot

A chatterbot (also known as a talkbot, chatbot, Bot, chatterbox, Artificial Conversational Entity) is a computer program which conducts a conversation via auditory or textual methods. Such programs are often designed to convincingly simulate how a human would behave as a conversational partner, thereby passing the Turing test. Chatterbots are typically used in dialog systems for various practical purposes including customer service or information acquisition. Some chatterbots use sophisticated natural language processing systems, but many simpler systems scan for keywords within the input, then pull a reply with the most matching keywords, or the most similar wording pattern, from a database.

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Crisis text line

Crisis Text Line is a United States not-for-profit organization providing free crisis intervention via SMS message. The organization's services are available 24 hours a day every day, and throughout the US.

As of May 12, 2016, Crisis Text Line has processed 17,293,586 text messages.[1]

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Technomad

Blend of techno- +‎ nomad, originally coined by Steven K. Roberts to describe a nomadic person who remains connected through communications media such as the internet during travel, exploration, and online nomadic living.

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More and more Cubans are getting access to the internet, thanks to government Wi-Fi hotspots and a loosening of trade restrictions with the US. However, many locals still don’t have access to the web or can’t afford it.

That’s why not-for-profit Miami startup Apretaste set up a system to allow Cubans to browse the web via email, which more people have access to. Only about 400,000 Cubans can freely browse the web, according to Apretaste, but 2.6 million have access to email. The service is simple. Users can get the Wikipedia entry for Cuba, for example, by sending an email to [email protected] with the subject line “Wikipedia Cuba.” Apretaste will download the Wikipedia page in Spanish, compress it to minimize the size of the resulting HTML file, and email it to back to the user.

In addition to searching Wikipedia, Apretaste also runs a Craigslist-like service that connects buyers and sellers in Cuba.

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BELGRADE, Serbia — The tens of thousands of migrants who have flooded into the Balkans in recent weeks need food, water and shelter, just like the millions displaced by war the world over. But there is also one other thing they swear they cannot live without: a smartphone charging station.

In this modern migration, smartphone maps, global positioning apps, social media and WhatsApp have become essential tools.

Migrants depend on them to post real-time updates about routes, arrests, border guard movements and transport, as well as places to stay and prices, all the while keeping in touch with family and friends.

The first thing many do once they have successfully navigated the watery passage between Turkey and Greece is pull out a smartphone and send loved ones a message that they made it.

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A group of Brazilian activists have turned the tables on Internet trolls who post racist messages on social media. Part of the "Racismo Virtual, Consequencias Reais" ("Virtual Racism, Real Consequences") campaign, the NGO Criola is installing signs featuring abusive text near the offenders' houses.

"Does a comment on the Internet cause less damage than a direct offense? For those who comment, it may be," the organization's website said. "But for those who suffer it, the prejudice is the same."

In partnership with local billboard media companies, Criola is pulling back the curtain to reveal real racist comments and to shame those who make them. First identifying online comments, the group uses geotagging tools to pinpoint the location where the messages were posted.

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Echo was a passive communications satellite which reflected radio and radar signals as a limited communications relay. It was also used, over a period of time and with accurate tracking, to plot the variations in air density at the top of the atmosphere by following the vagaries of its orbit.

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Dead drop

A dead drop or dead letter box is a method of espionage tradecraft used to pass items or information between two individuals (e.g., a case officer and agent, or two agents) using a secret location, thus not requiring them to meet directly and thereby maintaining operational security. The method stands in contrast to the live drop, so called because two persons meet to exchange items or information.

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Balloon powered internet

Many of us think of the Internet as a global community. But two-thirds of the world’s population does not yet have Internet access. Project Loon is a network of balloons traveling on the edge of space, designed to connect people in rural and remote areas, help fill coverage gaps, and bring people back online after disasters.

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Understanding silent speech with ear and tong sensors

Read my lips. A new invention can recognise “silent speech” by keeping tabs on your tongue and ears. By training it to recognise useful phrases, it could allow people who are disabled or work in loud environments to quietly control wearable devices. The new device relies in part on a magnetic tongue control system, previously designed to help people with paralysis drive a power wheelchair via tongue movements.

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“The Voyager Golden Record are records that contain sounds and images chosen to show the life and culture on Earth. These records which were sent in the Voyager spacecraft in 1977, are for alien life forms to see. However, the records can be seen as a symbol rather than a serious attempt to contact alien life forms.”

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Balloon mail

Balloon mail refers to the transport of mail (usually for weight reasons in the form of a postcard) carrying the name of the sender by means of an unguided hydrogen or helium filled balloon. Since the balloon is not controllable, the delivery of a balloon mail is left to good fortune; often the balloon and postcard are lost. Balloon mail has been used for spreading information and propaganda materials, in particular for spreading propaganda to the population in countries with dictatorial governments. A balloon can be released from outside the sphere of influence of these governments and, wind permitting, can travel several hundred kilometers. This method of balloon mail has been used by private activists to distribute leaflets to Warsaw Pact countries from West Germany in the mid-1950s;[4] and by South Koreans to North Korea discussing the health of their leader, Kim Jong-il.[5]

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Message in a bottle

A message in a bottle is a form of communication whereby a message is sealed in a container (archetypically a glass bottle, but could be any medium, so long as it floats and remains waterproof) and released into the sea or ocean. Among other purposes they are used for scientific studies of ocean currents.

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Letters to Gandhi

Among all the letters Gandhi received, some of the senders didn’t knew about an address to reach him; some letters were sent with only mention “Mr Gandhi, India”, or even with drawing of Gandhi on the envelope as substitution of writing. This letters were received although there were not proper address.

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Missed connection

“A missed connection is a type of personal advertisement which arises after two people meet but are too shy or otherwise unable to exchange contact details. The feature was started by Jim Buckmaster, Craigslist's CEO, after he noticed a common type of posting in their personal ads, which he characterised as "you-smiled-at-me-on-the-subway-platform". "

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“Kwikpoint guides enable basic communication between US troops and locals in Afghanistan and Iraq. Each one requires careful research how to communicate across barriers of language and culture.”

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Italian gangsters are using a football TV show’s text ticker to send coded messages to their jailed bosses.

Anti-mafia prosecutors believe that members of organised crime gangs have caught onto the interactive feature, sending seemingly innocuous comments and remarks which in fact contain important messages for imprisoned mafia godfathers, many of whom continue to run their criminal empires despite being behind bars. One of the messages, allegedly of significance for a jailed criminal mastermind, simply read: “All is well, Paolo.”