The tech world has just lost a legend. Matti Makkonen, the man who was considered “the father of SMS,” has died at 63.
The Finnish inventor pitched the idea for text messaging in 1984 according to Wired, while having a pizza dinner during a telecom conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. His creation has gone on to become a vital form of communication worldwide. It’s allowed the world to speak to each other privately while in public, and has given us the wonderful ability to shorten our conversations (talking is overrated). Without it, Twitter would not be possible, as well as numerous other apps that use SMS.
Makkonen was a humble man and never wanted to take full credit for SMS, rather claiming it was a “joint effort” between his colleagues and himself. He never patented the idea, and therefore never received a dime for it. Makkonen still ended up a successful presence in the telecom world, though, working for companies such as Nokia Networks and Tele Finland. He also was the CEO of Finnet Oy from 2003 to 2005.
Thanks for your work, Matti. The world is a better place because of it.
(Via Wired UK)