One of the most influential and revolutionary events in human history was the invention of the printing press. It transformed the world through the democratization of knowledge. The printing press allowed ideas to be widely distributed, opening the floodgates to rapid innovation. It altered the structure of society by threatening the ruling classes as a growing majority became literate. The printing press set a foundation for the entrepreneurial spirit of capitalism that pushed mankind out of the dark ages.

Neither kings, religious authority, nor members of the ruling class created the printing press. The invention was conceived from one man’s ambition. Johannes Gutenberg was a goldsmith with a strong entrepreneurial spirit. He had the idea for the printing press after failed attempts to create polished metal mirrors that he believed would capture holy light from religious relics. To satisfy his initial investors he sold the idea of the printing press and raised more capital.

The invention created a network effect and set the stage for processes and terminology we still use today. With the creation of movable type came the idea of reusable typefaces, the grid, leading, kerning, etc. These concepts are now prevalent in web and app design as many print designers crossed over to the digital age.

Gutenberg never saw the royalties from his invention, dying before it could be fully realized in society. However, the printing press solved a foundational communication problem in which many more issues could be brought to the forefront. In the wake of the invention, the masses were able to become educated without dictates from a ruling minority.

Project Gutenberg

Hundreds of years after the printing press was invented there was a digital revolution that pushed the democratization of knowledge to new heights. With the rise of the Internet the masses were able to communicate with people from around the world in real-time. One early challenge with the digital revolution was archiving printed material in an electronic format. An even greater challenge was making the content accessible to people despite their socioeconomic class.

Michael S. Hart created the first e-book after receiving a copy of the Declaration Of Independence and attempting to digitally transcribe and distribute it through email. After realizing that he would crash people’s computers by sending the email, he devised a way to download the document, thus the e-book was born.

Hart became obsessed with the idea of digitally archiving famous books, publications, and documents. He wanted to spread these writings on a global scale at no cost for the user. He founded Project Gutenberg, a volunteer effort to archive cultural works electronically. The project has since produced over 40,000 items mostly full texts of books in the public domain.

There is still much work to be done with the categorization and distribution of cultural content. The printing press was the first step in the process of moving away from the dark ages and into an educated and democratic world. There are still large barriers to this ideal, and developments like Project Gutenberg are helping to provided bridges to the next breakthrough.

What start-ups are working to solve the problems that still exist in the distribution of cultural content? I would love to hear your opinions.