Telecommunications enable conversations over space.

Recordings enable conversations over time.

There's a broader symmetry between records and signals generally that I've realised, though I don't seem to find any other notice of this:

Signals transmit encoded symbolic messages from a transmitter across space through a channel by variations in energy in time to a receiver, enabling creation of a new record.

Records transmit encoded symbolic messages from a writer across time through a substrate by variations in matter in space to a receiver, enabling creation of a new signal.

I've noodled on this in a few places, recently: https://toot.cat/@dredmorbius/106388460596905072

I've no idea if this is somehow profound or mind-bogglingly obvious.

When I tell you something in person, we did an instant thought transfer. However, we were bound by the time and space. When I write you an email, you can read it on Mars in the year 2037 and we did almost the same thought transfer even though I might be dead.

Paper can be moved

That they've discovered email.