Mr. Thomas Friedman is an absolutely an innovator of recognizing the global opportunities of business. It is very interesting to see the view of globalization of being flat and not round as most of us see it today. Globalization 1.0 was the early days of global discovery that started in 1492 with Columbus. The next Globalization 2.0 started in 1800 narrowing the gaps of communication and business commerce this was beginning of real international commerce. However, today Globalization 3.0 is the leveling the global economic playing field. This is the world that we live now – where anybody anywhere can compete on a global scale. I believe that other countries are taking advantage of our lack of ability to identify this new globalization is quite disheartening to say the least. This new concept of work flow revolution is amazing to witness on a daily basis around the world. This new platform of uploading content from my home and being able to communicate and create commerce globally is very exciting. The convergence of all of this new technology into a single but very large horizontal platform that brings value to almost everyone that does any communication via the World Wide Web is very unprecedented.
In November 9th 1989 - was I living in Europe at the time when the Berlin Wall fell. The atmosphere in Switzerland was sensational people were so excited to see that communist rule was ending. I was very fortunate to witness this event first hand. Of course, I had really no idea at the time what it really meant for me personally. Looking back now - I believe I wasn’t alone. However, there were mega opportunists that capitalized greatly as a result of the fall of the Berlin wall.
I remember when I use to get free Aol and Netscape CD disks in the mail urging…no begging me to get connected to the internet. These were very interesting times in the early years of the internet. Netscape was the catalyst of the dot com boom in the 1995 went the company went public. Today, I find it very fascinating to see my two teenage boys growing up in this world not knowing anything but the internet. This is for me interesting to view from my vantage point of them interacting with folk globally without any borders. They have friends worldwide that they speak with frequently and for them this is normal and at times that are able sell products from here in Ogden, UT. They send packages to their customers off sometimes daily but mostly weekly around world. I love the comment of “content is being developed by you or to you.” That is very inspiring to me to be more innovative in finding my place in the global economy.
Mr. Friedman is very insightful in providing a roadmap for the rest of us to see the possibilities to be a part of this new revolution.
That was very insightful. Like your sons, I too can't imagine life without the internet. It is changing the world and the way that people do business. It is hard to believe, as I inferred from the book, that this process will only continue. I can't even try to imagine how thoroughly information technology will pervade every single aspect of our lives in the years to come.
ReplyDeleteI second the remarks by Blake, now it is amazing to stop and consider that I have access to vast amounts of information from my cellphone by accessing the web through my cellular service. Also, I have purchased from the online auction house Ebay, which was an easy and painless experience. This gave me empowerment to purchase a used product I would have only been able to get in store several years ago, most likely for a much more expensive price.
ReplyDeleteI too find amazement at all the "power" that we have simply based on internet access. The new cell phones and all the technology that comes with them is outstanding. I remember the time before the internet and all the phone calls that had to me made instead of quickly typing an email and sending it to several people at a time. I feel the same as you as far as us not identifying with the new globalization. Sometimes I feel that Americans want to earn the most money for the least amount of work. Forcing companies to go outside of the U.S. for cheaper labor. What a shame. I loved the free internet access CDs! And to think of how much we pay for the service now. I do love the power of the internet and what can be done in a short amount of time.
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