Flatworld

Chapter 2 :Forces of flattening

This chapter talks about the ten forces that flattened the world and the multiple new forms and tools for collaboration that this flattening has created. It starts with the falling of the walls of berlin on November 11, 1989 and explained its significance in liberating the captives of the soviet empire. It then moved to the second and third force which introduced the  world of technology with the advent of the world wide web, netscape, films and cartoons. Then came the forth advancement of uploading new software with the introduction of wikipedia, podcasting, amazon, aol, msn. The fifth flattening which is outsourcing is not one I’m in support for the most, jobs were outsourced to other countries as a source of increasing revenue and saving money. Then came the sixth flattening called offshoring with the likes of china joining the WTO. This led to the seventh flattening of supply chaining with the likes of walmart seizing the smaller markets and creating a big monopoly of goods and services. This led to insourcing as companies like UPS were no longer just delivering packages but were synchronizing global supplies of chains for companies large and small. This led to the nineth flattening which gave rise to major search engines like google, yahoo, msn search. Which led to the digital world of wireless, personal and virtual technology which the book called steroids. All these show the effects technology has played in making the world a global and easier place to live in. Friedman does a very good job in linking them all.

KPN

Bulk of flattening done by the web

I can't help but think that part 2 of chapter 2 was the most major of all world flatteners (is that even a word?)... Anyways bottom line is web access made it possible for anyone with any kind of computer and web access to view anything and everything somebody else across the globe or down the street was willing to share.  HOW AMAZING..... i wonder what people were spending there time with 20 years ago?  Maybe this is why the older I get the faster time flies by.  The older I get the more I can do with two wonderful inventions-- the computer and the web! I don't think there is a day that goes by that I don't use the web for something.  It could be e-mail, shopping, facebook, asking google a question, looking for a recipe, a new work out, and i mean i could go on and on.  Not to mention I stay into contact with friends from here to California and everywhere in between and not to mention some that are studying overseas or serving in Iraq.  Could the world really even be flattened without this invention?

World Flatteners

Chapter 2 of Friedman's book organizes the 10 happenings that 'flattened' the world. All of the new advancements in technology were mentioned and the way they completely changed the way we do business and even the way we live our lives. Now I would agree that all of these advancements, such as computers, the net as well as the web, right down to everything going wireless, are great ways to conect with eachother fast and efficiently, and we all use them, and some people could not live without them. But, where is it all going to end? Friedman is always updating this book with new editions. I wonder how many 'world flatteners' will be in the next book. I know that we all love advancements in technology, the next greatest gadget. But after reading some of the other blogs, this made me start to wonder where all of this will go. I know that technology can make us lazy, but could it come to a point where we are losing jobs? Robots or machinery could do our jobs for us one day, so where are the new jobs going to come from? This sort of thing reminds me of the movie wall-eye where the world became so polluted and technology so advanced that people ditched the world and moved to the moon to do nothing all day. Now this is very far-fetched, I know, but it does not seem to be like something I would want to happen.

KNN

Chapter 2

Chapter 2 in "The World is Flat" is basically just a very long summary of how the world has become so "flat".  Friedman divides these into forces which he called "The Then Forces That Flattened the World".  The first three flatteners that Friedman talks about are from back in the 90's when user-friendly computers made it possible for people to communicate over long distances and work together on something while being so far away.  Obviously this technology is the root of how the world is becoming so "flat".  The other six flatteners discuss ways this collaboration can take place.  They are broken up into the sections of uploading, outsourcing, offshoring, supply-chaining, insourcing, in-forming, and "the steroids".  Most of those are pretty much self-explanatory, the only one people may not recognize is the steroids flattener.  Friedman defines the steroids as a combination of small factors that increase the effects of the six flatteners just mentioned.  An example would be the mobile steroid which lets you work away from your office, such as wireless internet access.  Overall, I think Friedman does a good job proving his point.  All of these advances in technology have contributed to the whole World becoming more involved with each other and more open with each other.

MKU

Betting Big in the Dark

    So I have to agree on the post by K.O. when he points out the excessive length of this chapter.  But with complaining aside, I must say that it was a pretty thorough explanation over the flatten of the globe.  I guess the only thing that might scare me in the midst of all the hype about the technological advancements that are enhancing this globalized economy, is the unknown as to where this idea will lead.  I mean lets take into consideration the true magnitude of this personal expansion of technological resources to EVERYONE on the planet, last I checked the world isn't full of business geared people that only want to use this technology for the greater good.  Now I'm completely for all ten of the explanations that Friedman points out, to being beneficial as a whole, but we still have to keep in mind how little we know about everyone that's now able to ante into this poker match.  Before ya know it you could be feeling awfully confident on a hand that might usually win, but in reality you could just be betting big in the dark.

JDR

The Importance of Netscape

While I was reading Ch. 2 of THE WORLD IS FLAT, one of the items that I noticed even more than the rest of the items in the chapter was Netscape.  As was stated in the chapter, Netscape was important because it enabled the technology to exist as it does today.  Once Netscape became popular, it allowed other programs and forms of technology to be able to exist.  Eventually as time went on, one form of technology led to another form of technology.  Through the years, the different forms of technology developed into what they are today.  Therefore, Netscape was an important part of the technology that exists today.  It is kind of amazing how one item can have such a large impact on many other items.  One item can greatly change what happens in the future.  With that being the case, it makes me think about what the current technology would be like if Netscape had not existed.  Would the technology be the same as it is now or would it be quite different?  That just shows the impact that Netscape had on the current technology.

MLN

News Media V. Bloggers

Blogging has become a popular way of spreading more relieable, often firsthand news. Information of the media has deceived citizens into believing events had happened, didn't happen, or happened differently. For example, this article claims that reporters would show intense battle scenes in Iraq at night, but during the day they did not show the women and children that were killed the night of the attacks. http://www.thenation.com/doc/20030428/dixit Though, it would be hard for a single blogger to have access to firsthand news of an event overseas, there are many informed people in Washington that often provide information to bloggers.This has gotten to the point that many people trust blog news over major news moguls. Which, in a sense, has given the government less power to persuade the people. If we know the truth, it is hard for the news media to persuade us otherwise.

-BT

IAYF- Information At Your Fingertips

What I basically got out of this ridiculously long chapter was how the increase of knowledge of technology today is creating a flatter world. Friedman explains the 10 forces that flattened the world. The first being the fall fo the Berlin Wall, 2nd- when Netscape went public, 3rd- work flow software, 4th- uploading, 5th- outsourcing, 6th- offshoring, 7th- supply chaining, 8th- insourcing, 9th- informing,and 10th- "the steroids"(digital, mobile,personal, and virtual). A great website that helps to clarify the 150 page chapter - http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/monkeynote/pmWorldIsFlatSample.pdf The chapter comes down to just showing us how far globalization has come. We can now connect to any one, anywhere, at anytime and anyplace in the world.

K.O.

Flatworld Chapter 1

   It seems that the world is getting flatter everyday.  It is amazing how we can connect with anyone in the world in matter of seconds.  Email has became a necessity for most jobs. The author talks about Columbus's journey to America.  It probably took months for his travels.  Now it only takes hours to get anywhere. Companys now do not only have buildings in America, but now in other countries.  The world is all connected.  Making the world one small place.

LRB

Globalization occurs with-in businesses and individuals not just among countries. Globalization has drastically taken over our world rather we see and accept it or not. Globalization plays a key in the world economy in the ways it affects the largest corporations in the world. They must go global to compete.

Out sourcing and information sharing are aspects of globalization which impact out daily lives. Workers are being laid off and many of them are becoming less motivated. This also tied in with the factor of desire. As more workers are being laid off, their desire for the company’s success is also decreasing.

Technology obviously places another huge role in the rapid flattening of the environment. It is a continually growing factor that affects all businesses and how they operate. Energy dependence and information sharing along the desire improve quality of life fuel the globalization era.


PRM
Sorry i just received my book in mail today.