Concept in Definition ABC

When the acronym SOS is pronounced or written, we know that there is a call for help before a emergency. With an SOS you ask for some kind of help.

SOS is, in its strict sense, the distress signal used globally in telegraphy and through the code Morse. From a historical point of view, these three capital letters have been used since the beginning of the 20th century in the context of maritime communications, in which radio and telegraph are used as means from communication.

Initially, the acronym CQD was used, although it was perceived to imply some challenge

The SOS was not the first distress signal, since previously the acronym CQD was used, which means in English Come Quickly, Distress (Come quickly, problems).

The change from one name to another was due to a very specific reason: SOS was easier to remember and had a greater simplicity. Although this is the real reason, there are other versions about its true meaning (it is said that it comes from the expression

Save Our Souls, Save our souls). In any case, an SOS is a direct and simple way to notify about a danger imminent and it is an internationally recognized acronym.

The dissemination of this signal in maritime transmissions to other areas is a reality. In fact, some phone companies have an SOS recharge service. This service allows the Username able to send a message or call despite not having enough credit.

Launch an SOS

In the traditional media and in the new technological platforms, campaigns requesting some kind of help or collaboration appear relatively frequently. In order for the notice to be shocking from an advertising point of view, an SOS is launched accompanied by the reason on which help is requested from the citizenship.

Thus, launching an SOS is a call with a component of desperation or emergency. Let's look at some typical examples: a group of workers is in a dramatic situation, a person you want your problem to be known or an international body draws attention because you are facing a catastrophe humanitarian. In the three mentioned circumstances it is possible to launch an SOS.

These types of notices are, of course, exceptional in nature and it would not make sense to use them as a strategy daily communication. When an SOS is launched we know that it is necessary to act with speed and determination, since the help requested is fully justified.

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