đź’¬ The History of the First Group Chat

AND Inventions of the World's Fair

Author

Landon Campbell
January 08, 2024

Hey Friends! 🚙 👋🏽

Welcome to the 40th edition of the Driver’s Seat!

đź“Ť Today’s Lineup:

đź’¬ The History of the First Group Chat

🎡 Inventions of the World's Fair

đź“Š Chart of the Week

đź—ş Events Around the City

🔙 Previous Issues of the Driver’s Seat

Let’s dive in! đźš™ đź’¨

đź’¬ The History of the First Group Chat 

Talkomatic Founded in Illinois

  • The first-ever group chat was developed in Illinois.

  • It was named Talkomatic and served as the pioneering public online chat system.

  • Talkomatic was created in 1973 at the University of Illinois, using the PLATO System, by Doug Brown and David R. Woolley.

The Mechanics

  • Each user in Talkomatic has their own section of the screen, broadcasting messages letter-by-letter as they are typed

  • Talkomatic featured six channels, each capable of accommodating up to five participants.

  • In March 2014, Brown and Woolley released a new web-based version of Talkomatic, which you can explore here.

🎡 Inventions of the World's Fair

The Chicago World's Fair of 1893 was a monumental event that attracted 27M visitors over six months.

Here are some notable inventions debuted at the fair:

Nikola Tesla's Alternating Current (AC) System: Tesla chose the fair to demonstrate the AC system's safety and efficiency, a major advance in electric power transmission.

Tesla's Wireless Lighting Technology: Tesla's experiments in lighting glass tubes wirelessly were a precursor to fluorescent lighting, showcasing the potential of wireless energy.

The Original Ferris Wheel: Built as a response to Paris's Eiffel Tower, it was the first of its kind.

Spray Painting Innovation by Millet: Millet's invention of spray painting was a game-changer in construction and painting, paving the way for the development of modern spray / airbrush techniques.

The Zipper: Known initially as a 'clasp locker', the zipper's utility was not immediately obvious.

The Moving Walkway: A forerunner to today's escalators and moving walkways, it offered a new mode of transport within the fair, foreshadowing future transit innovations.

Cochrane's Dishwasher: This invention, displayed at the fair, later transformed household tasks, leading to the modern automated dishwasher.

đź“Š Chart of the Week

The Economist released a special edition on the world’s most expensive cities.

Chicago was ranked as one of the most affordable cities in the US, and among the top five major cities, the most budget-friendly.

For reference, SF, NYC, and LA were among the most expensive cities to live in.

This is a huge advantage to all, particularly for early-stage founders who are increasingly required to do more with less, especially when raising smaller funding rounds.

🗺️ Events Around The City

Access to Care for Alzheimer’s Disease

  • Hosted by MATTER

  • Wednesday Jan 10

  • RSVP

Immersive Technology Meetup

  • Hosted by AWENite Chicago / VRARChicago

  • Wednesday Jan 10

  • RSVP

Heads-Up Computing: Towards The Next Generation of Interactive Computing

  • Hosted by ACM Chicago

  • Wednesday Jan 10

  • RSVP

Chicago Data Professionals Meetup

  • Hosted by CDP

  • Thursday Jan 11

  • RSVP

Tech Socratic Seminar

  • Hosted by Chicago BitDevs

  • Thursday Jan 11

  • RSVP

Another event to put on your calendar is the Genesis Windy City Crawl, which is an opportunity for founders to connect with investors in a meaningful way. 👇🏽

GENESIS – Windy City Venture Crawl

The Windy City Venture Crawl (WCVC), hosted by GENESIS, offers a fresh take on networking for founders. Think of it as a pub crawl, but instead of bars, you're pitching at different VC offices in Chicago.

www.joingenesis.org/wcvc

đź‘‹ See you next week!

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram for even more Chicago startup news and photos of my favorite restaurants in the city.

🗞 Previous Issues of the Driver’s Seat