Contemporary (Post-WWII)

A Switchboard to the History of the Telephone: The Bell System Memorial Website

In the golden days of the Bell telephone monopoly, telephones did not beep, chirp or yodel. Telephones made only one sound: they rang. In those golden days, there was no confusing variety of telephone providers, vying with each other to offer better long distance deals. There was one provider for local and long-distance calls, and this was Bell.

Ma Bell, the company of companies, was much more than a telephone provider: it was a symbol of American enterprise, of innovation and progress. Bell was not a company in the strict sense, but was an aggregate term for AT&T encompassing 24 Bell operating companies that provided local phone services. Under the umbrella was also the AT&T long distance service, an equipment manufacturing arm known as Western Electric, and the research and development division "Bell Laboratories." At the time of its break-up after de-regulation in 1984, Bell was the largest employer in the United States. Bell had not only provided a telephone for the majority of American households, but also a regular income for over a million workers.

The Bell System Memorial website is dedicated to an era of the telephone that was lost with de-regulation. It is a memorial to the technology of the telephone, and a memorial to the workers who made the phones ring. The website is a labor of love by David Massey, a private telephone enthusiast who was not associated with any of the former Bell companies.

The design of the website is clear and intelligent, resembling the functionality of a telephone switchboard: The main index site provides four options for different groups to enter the site: for students and teachers, for former employees, for historians and researchers, and for hobbyists and collectors. By providing these different entrance points, David Massey manages to address a wide audience, and at the same time tailors more specific information to a variety of groups.

When entering through the former employee button, visitors can access a fascinating collection of stories by former AT&T, Western Electric, Bell Labs, and Bell Operating Company employees. In this section, former employees recall "the wonders of working at Ma-Bell." They write about the stages of their careers at Bell, their most extraordinary work experiences, and the comradery among Bell employees. Not all stories reflect a harmonious relationship between the employer and the employees: Peter W. Koch, a former Western Electric installer, tells of a long strike in 1952 to raise the per diem rate for traveling installers by one dollar. In 1958, due to a recession, "about a third of the installers were laid off." Among them was Peter W. Koch, who "was never recalled." This section also gives a sense of the skills that were lost in the course of technological progress. Mary Clemence, who worked as a switchboard operator in Michigan in the mid 1960s, recalls her skills in handling a switchboard from the 1920s. "I've realized for some time that I had an incredibly unique experience using that kind of equipment, at a time when most of the country had direct dialing for local and long distance calls."

In addition to these stories, visitors can access a wealth of material through a navigation bar on the left hand side: a short history of the Bell logo, recordings of Jane Barbe's voice, Yellow Pages for telephone collectors and much more. A search engine helps to find pathways through Bell's A-Z. A What's New page keeps regular visitors up-to-date about additions to the site.

For historians of technology, for students and teachers, for anyone who has phone-nostalgia and wants to have a good time, the Bell System Memorial is the place to go. This website rings.

Katja Hering
Center for History and New Media
April 22, 2004

The Computer History Museum began in 1996 to preserve and celebrate computer history, and the Apple Computer History Weblog introduced in August 2003 is one venture to do just this. Overseen by more than 20 former Apple and Claris employees and the Computer History Museum, the historical purpose of the blog is stated in the introduction. A year-by-year timeline of Apple history from 1976-1993 (because it takes a decade to become “history”) is provided, listing company financial and employee numbers, products, marketplace overviews, and executive staff.

The Apple Computer History Weblog began with a promising start. In the first 8 weeks more than 75 stories were collected, although since then only a few more have been added. The medium of collection and presentation is fitting for the intended contributors, and the stories are a fascinating read even for those outside the Apple and Claris community, although attracting new visitors and contributions will be a continual challenge.

Community members can post a comment to a specific year, to a specific category, or begin a new topic. The community is comfortable and not entirely self-congratulatory. A posting entitled “Who Killed Apple Computer " sparked mention in Wired News, among others, and prompted 16 rather full replies in 6 weeks.

The use of blog technology to create a virtual workspace for an existing community with now far-flung members fits this group very well. Familiarity and interest in computer technology is a given, and the desire to commune with former colleagues is present in many members. Repeat contributors to this site comment on different topics is noteworthy, as is the In Memorium section, dedicated to former colleagues.

Critical opinions make it past the vetting process, although the introduction steers the contributor towards stories about the “cool stuff” and “the passion that made everything you did so great and so much fun.”

The design and navigation is simple, however the division of categories and stories can be confusing, as the category sections contain suggested topics rather than related stories. Despite the request for narratives rather than dialog, members have the ability to comment on individual stories. These messages don’t appear in threaded format, however, so viewing the two linked stories together requires more than one browser window. In addition, the author of a particular story is not viewable on the story page unless it was signed by the contributor. Threading the related stories or removing the comment option to prevent related, but unlinked, messages would improve the site and is needed now that there are a large number of messages.

Joan Fragaszy
Center For History and New Media
August 12, 2004