STOP - Telegram era over, Western Union says

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Audience/Grade:	College Freshman-Continuing Education
Discipline(s):	Electrical Engineering Engineering Management Entrepreneurship and Innovation History of Science and Technology Information Systems Information Technology
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Learning Resource Type:	Reference - Article/Document
Media Type:	Unknown
Author(s):	Organization:NSNBC News
Description:	NSNBC News, Feb. 2, 2006. "Instant-messaging of its day made obsolete by telephone, Internet. For more than 150 years, messages of joy, sorrow and success came in signature yellow envelopes hand-delivered by a courier. Now the Western Union telegram is officially a thing of the past. The company formed in April 1856 to exploit the hot technology of the telegraph to send cross-country messages in less than a day. It is now focusing its attention on money transfers and other financial services, and delivered its final telegram on Friday. “The decision was a hard decision because we’re fully aware of our heritage,” said Victor Chayet, a spokesman for the Greenwood Village, Colo.-based company. “But it’s the final transition from a communications company to a financial services company.” Photo caption: "A Western Union driver heads to his car to deliver a message in an unknown city sometime in the 1910s. The company, formed in 1856, transmitted its final telegram last week."
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Use of Resource:	The subtitle says it all: "Instant-messaging of its day made obsolete by telephone, Internet." Interesting example of how a company transformed itself over time with acquisitions. "In 1994, Western Union Financial Services was acquired by First Financial Management Corp. which First Data Corp. bought for $7 billion the following year. Last week, First Data said it would spin Western Union off as a separate company."
Difficulty:	Easy
Interactivity Level:	Low