The Year is 1979

Blondie are Number 1 in the charts with “Heart of Glass”

Thatcher has been voted into power

A pint of beer costs 37p

You need to contact a friend in a nearby town - other than visiting, how many ways can you think of to communicate with them?

telephone

letter

telegram CB radio

morse code

smoke signals

telex

The year is 1989

Cher is Number 1 in the charts with “If I could turn back time”

Thatcher is still just about clinging on to power

A pint of beer costs £1.10

How many different ways of communicating are there now?

telephone

letter

telegram CB radio

morse code

smoke signals

mobile phone

fax

telex

The year is 1999

Britney Spears is Number 1 in the charts with “Baby One More Time”

Tony Blair is a new (and popular) PM

A pint of beer costs £1.80

How many different ways of communicating are there now?

telephone

letter

telegram CB radio

morse code

smoke signals

mobile phone

fax

e-mail

text message

MMS

internet chat

bulletin board

newsgroup

web conference

video conference webpagetelex

The year is 2009

Lady Gaga is Number 1 in the charts with “Poker Face”

Gordon Brown is not very popular, and there’s a recession on

A pint of beer costs £2.50

How many different ways of communicating are there now?

telephone

letter

telegram CB radio

morse code

smoke signals

mobile phone

fax

e-mail

text message

MMS

internet chat

bulletin board

newsgroup

web conference

video conference webpage

internet telephony

blog

social network

wiki

twitter

file sharing sites

online gaming

3G

telex

virtual worlds