I just read a very interesting article. It turns out Abe Lincoln had his own Facebook type profile printed on a one page newsletter with a profile pic and everything. He filed a patent for it in 1845 which was denied.
Check out the article and let me know what you think!
Abraham Lincoln Filed a Patent for Facebook in 1845
here is a snippet from the article:
"Lincoln was requesting a patent for “The Gazette,” a system to “keep People aware of Others in the Town.” He laid out a plan where every town would have its own Gazette, named after the town itself. He listed the Springfield Gazette as his Visual Appendix, an example of the system he was talking about. Lincoln was proposing that each town build a centrally located collection of documents where “every Man may have his own page, where he might discuss his Family, his Work, and his Various Endeavors.”
Turns out to be false....thanks Yegor for sending me the follow up article....
I actually researched everywhere and could not find anything backing it up...I concluded that it was simply a new discovery of an event lost in history. Turns out to be a psycological experiment on innocent people. It does, however, show how quickly rumors are innocently spread! http://bit.ly/K3lKBj
I actually researched everywhere and could not find anything backing it up...I concluded that it was simply a new discovery of an event lost in history. Turns out to be a psycological experiment on innocent people. It does, however, show how quickly rumors are innocently spread! http://bit.ly/K3lKBj
Hey All,
So yesterday, after reading George's post, I quite fancied the idea that the one and only Mr. Abraham Lincoln himself invented Facebook 160 years ago.
"The Original Zuckerberg" has a nice ring to it and would be a perfect pitch for Hollywood, which has recently re-envisioned 'The Great Emancipator' as a great vampire slayer in what is undoubtedly one of the most ridiculous movie plots I've ever heard of.
But back to Lincoln and his status updates in 1845..Turns out, it was all a clever little trick as some people suspected. Blogger Nate St. Pierre was just trying to have some good clean fun, saying that he likes to do a hoax every few years.
He also pointed out that while he knew the story would get big, he had no idea that many sites would just run it with no fact checking. And run it they did. The Next Web, ZDNet, and even Forbes all posted about it (Forbes pulled it this morning).
But while St. Pierre did reiterate it was a simply a fun way to pay homage to P.T Barnum and his hoaxes, he was also sending a more important message about fact checking on the internet: "The internet would fall over itself to be first and share without checking."
That the story was Facebooked, Google Plus'd, Tweeted, and re-Tweeted by thousands of people is understandable, but that legitimate sites and blogs failed to fact check before posting is a bit concerning to say the least. Food for thought.
Too bad. I really wanted to believe that "The Ancient One" had outzuckerberged even Zuckerberg, but oh well, at least he's a better vampire hunter!
Cheers,
So yesterday, after reading George's post, I quite fancied the idea that the one and only Mr. Abraham Lincoln himself invented Facebook 160 years ago.
"The Original Zuckerberg" has a nice ring to it and would be a perfect pitch for Hollywood, which has recently re-envisioned 'The Great Emancipator' as a great vampire slayer in what is undoubtedly one of the most ridiculous movie plots I've ever heard of.
But back to Lincoln and his status updates in 1845..Turns out, it was all a clever little trick as some people suspected. Blogger Nate St. Pierre was just trying to have some good clean fun, saying that he likes to do a hoax every few years.
He also pointed out that while he knew the story would get big, he had no idea that many sites would just run it with no fact checking. And run it they did. The Next Web, ZDNet, and even Forbes all posted about it (Forbes pulled it this morning).
But while St. Pierre did reiterate it was a simply a fun way to pay homage to P.T Barnum and his hoaxes, he was also sending a more important message about fact checking on the internet: "The internet would fall over itself to be first and share without checking."
That the story was Facebooked, Google Plus'd, Tweeted, and re-Tweeted by thousands of people is understandable, but that legitimate sites and blogs failed to fact check before posting is a bit concerning to say the least. Food for thought.
Too bad. I really wanted to believe that "The Ancient One" had outzuckerberged even Zuckerberg, but oh well, at least he's a better vampire hunter!
Cheers,
--Yegor P-- Social Media Content Coordinator New to the Community? Sign up for FREE today.
1 person likes this
Reply
Login to the community
No account yet? Create an account
Enter your E-mail address. We'll send you an e-mail with instructions to reset your password.