Thomas L. Friedman explains in his book
“The World is Flat” his opinion on how society became digital. What I mean by “how society became digital”
is how did society come to have a lot of electronic technology? In his book, Friedman
breaks up world history into three phases, or globalizations, that explain how
our society went from zero electronic technology to having technology affecting
us daily.
The first globalization approximately
went from the years 1492-1800. These
years were about exploration. Finding new places and finding resources that
could help countries develop. This
opened up the trade market between countries. Now countries had more options
and what mattered to every country was how many resources they had and how well
could they use them for their benefit. Countries were now more integrated than
they had been previously.
The second globalization went from
1800-2000. The Great Depression and World Wars one and two were hurdles that
slowed the globalization dash down. But,
even with those obstacles many new inventions came forth, starting off with
steam engines and railroads, then moving toward telephones, satellites, and
next the computer towards the 21st century. Friedman argues that Multinational companies
were leaders in the change because they “went global for markets and labor”
(pg. 9). Things like the railroad or
cars made transportation easier and telephones and email made communication
easier and quicker. Costs of
transportation and communication went down. Computers could help businesses be more
productive. What mattered to the
multinational companies was how they could use the inventions to better their company.
Friedman also explains how the fall of
the Berlin Wall in 1989 also played a role in the second globalization. To put it in his words the fall of the berlin
wall “tipped the balance of power across the world toward those advocating
democratic, consensual, free-market-oriented governance, and away from those
advocating authoritarian rule with centrally planned economies”(pg. 52). Communism
was out and democracy was in. That was
really good because it gave more people a lot more freedom. It was power to the people! And now
governments and economies would be built up by the people, for the people.
Globalization number three is from 2000
till the current time. Now, instead of countries and businesses calling the
shots, individuals have computer power to spread ideas, business plans, and
communicate with others at little cost to them.
Fiber Optic cables are all over the world interconnecting just about
everybody. They can relay a message in a
matter of a few seconds to anybody in the whole world. That is what makes
computers awesome! But, the computers
that we use today aren’t the same as the ones from the 90’s. Back in the day
there was no Google Chrome or Wikipedia. When computers were just starting out,
they were used for basic word processing and their email system was not very
good. People could not connect with each
other if they used different programs.
Every computer had individual data and information, but there was no
easy way to share it with lots of other computers. You could only email computers on your same
network. That’s when a little company called Netscape saved the day. Netscape created a way for computers to
connect and it didn’t matter if you used a Mac or other PC! “What Netscape did
was bring a new killer app – the browser—to this installed base of PCs, making
the computer and its connectivity inherently more useful for millions of
people.” (Friedman pg. 63) What is a browser you might ask? It’s an application
for your computer that connects you to the internet. It’s like Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox or
Internet Explorer. It’s basically something you click on that transports you to
the internet. Now every computer user had access to the internet. Internet access made it a whole lot easier to
share photos, documents, and other data with others. Families could connect more with each other
and businesses could be more productive.
Computers make up a big part of our
lives these days. It’s hard to not use
them on a daily basis. They’re in our schools,
work places, and our houses. We use them
for information, entertainment, and even social interaction. I can’t even
imagine what it would be like not to have a computer or a cellphone. And if there was no internet or browsers to
connect me to the internet, my computer would be much less helpful.
Thomas
L.Friedman - Farrar, Straus and Giroux - 2006
Excellent work, I really like how you relate where we would be without Globalization 3.0 and Netscape. The world without cell phones would be very different indeed
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed how you explained the steps that the world has taken thus far in its advancement to be at the point which we are in now with technology. As you stated, the world as we know it would be completely different without the technological advancements that it has made over the last 500 years.
ReplyDeleteI really feel like everything we do is involved around technology and the internet as well! Really notice that when the power goes out and you're just laying there. Great work!
ReplyDeleteVery comfortable read. I liked how with every time period you included the major events going on around the world at that point in time. Helps me visualize the changing of the world much better.
ReplyDeleteExcellent work! I am not very sure what I would do without the internet as it's a wealth of knowledge (if used correctly). I liked how you outlined everything to show just how rapid the expansion of Globalization is as a whole, with no possibility of slowing down.
ReplyDeleteYou were very fluid with how you moved from one topic to another. It was quite amazing. I too liked how you incorporated other era-centered events to explain in more depth the level of globalization occurring. Great work, altogether.
ReplyDelete