Module 1

Before starting to read this book I hadn't really put much thought into the accessibility and the progress that technology as made in such a short period of time. Since I have been old enough to really use the internet it seems as though it was always easy to access and use, but I never thought about how this creates an equal playing field for everyone as individuals.  

            I quickly realized what changes had occurred in such a short period of time with the internet, making the world an entirely different place, or as Thomas Friedman says makes the world flat. It was interesting to read about all the different steps to globalization. Friedman breaks it down into three different version: 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0. The first version, 1.0, is what as Friedman says brought the world from “large to medium”, which allowed for globalization of countries and allowed them to try and figure out their place and purpose in the process of globalization. Then came along globalization 2.0 which then took the world from “medium to small” and the focus shifted from countries as a whole to companies. This era lasted in Friedman’s opinion from 1800 to 2000. There was a more widespread use of telephones, PCs, satellites and many more technological advances that allowed for growth among businesses and a global economy.  Then zoom ahead to now, where we are currently a part of globalization 3.0, which now allows individuals to focus on their part and compete globally. Friedman explains that this is what he calls the flat-world platform, which because of personal computers and internet is allowing individuals to be more empowered and enabled to connect as a whole globe. It is amazing that throughout the process of globalization you can already see the influence that it has on the world as a whole, since globalization 1.0 and 2.0 were dominated by Europeans and Americans, and now 3.0 is reaching out to all parts of the world. With globalization 3.0 taking part it is allowing for people from all different walks of life to participate.

In his book, The World is Flat, Friedman discusses the different the forces he believes to have caused the world to become flat. One of the first things that occurred that Friedman believes to help begin the world to flatten was the falling down of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The wall was a divide between the two parts of the country that was able to be seen by the eyes. As soon as the wall fell, it immediately forced them to become one, there was no longer anything separating them. This began the idea of the world uniting in economic standards. It started to tilt people’s ideals away from the Communist and capitalist ways to a more democratic and free-market oriented economy. This all helped to allow the spread of telephones and the computer for a more open way of information and communication. It became harder to keep the nations separate in ideas.

Another event that allowed to for a more equal playing field among individuals was the development and releasing of Netscape. Before Netscape there wasn't a simple way to explore the internet, but after it became accessible to individuals it allowed for people to easily access the internet and explore all sorts of things. Friedman explains that Netscape made it so easy to access the internet that anyone from 5 to 95 years old could use it efficiently. Netscape was easy to download to the growing number of personal computers, making it usable by people of all different lifestyles. Netscape is what started the growth of internet exploring applications, although they eventually were put out by Microsoft’s creation of Internet Explorer, Netscape is what started the popular, easy to explore internet.

Although I have only read a fraction of Friedman’s The World is Flat, I can already see how there are some many different things that took place allowing for each of us to be able to easily use technology and make individuals competitive as a whole. I never realized how easily every one is able to compete thanks to the easy accessibility of the internet.