Summary Of Thomas L. Friedman's The World Is Flat

In the article, “The Future Is Now: It’s Heading Right at Us, But We Never See It Coming”, Joel Achenbach speculates that major advancements are not displayed in the media, discussed by important figures, nor anticipated by the general public; The events taking place are not acknowledged until they are actively making a difference in society. According to Achenbach, the majority of us are oblivious to science and technological advancement, two major development advocates, due to the discourse involved. Most of us have a generalized perception of what is behind major changes in society, and are intimidated by the intellectual process that occurs beforehand. Achenbach then explains how we overlooked a worldwide phenomenon such as the internet.

In Friedman’s “It’s a Flat World, After All”, Friedman in a trip Bangalore, India accidentally “encountered the flattening of the world”. The following paper will analyze “It’s a Flat World, After All” and the flattening of the world. To conclude the paper I will summarize my thoughts on the flattening of the world.

The conflicting views that Vashti and Kuno express concerning society’s dependence and devotion towards the Machine emphasizes the change in human communication due to the advancement and dependence upon technology. Vashti and Kuno’s expedition to the earth’s surface accentuates the capability for technology to strip humans away from their

In her call to action, The People’s Platform; Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age, Astra Taylor addresses underlying social and economic forces of the internet and differential perspectives towards it. Taylor discusses the new internet in which content is king and, people are now the product, this is called Web 2.0. She discusses this topic from a couple viewpoints; those who would believe that the internet is truly the new people’s platform and that it is the golden age of sharing and collaboration, called the Techno-optimists. The counterparts of this interpretation of the internet are what she calls the Techno-Skeptics, who have a similar mindset in that of Nicholas Carr, an author about technology in the modern age, with the

The author compares the difference from the past and the present and how the internet has changed not only himself, but others and the way that they are able to understand and focus due to the long-term use of the web. While comparing the past and the present the author gathers information from well know writers that feel the same way about the effects of the web. The author's choice of personal experiences, vivid imagery and analysis backed by research hook the reader and persuades them to believe that today's technology is causing mainly problems.

These forces are the direct result of advanced technology. Moreover, the forces were made possible thanks to the World Wide Web (which is another force Friedman mentions). Technology and Internet are the real reasons our world became flat, and the reason the above flattener forces evolved. Companies, groups, and individuals – all connected together to form one global village. US companies started to outsource the back rooms of accounting firms and forwarding Dell customers to the 24/7 call center located in India. US companies were able to reduce cost, while making India a “customer service nation” and China a “low labor cost nation”.

One detrimental consequence of the technological society we live in is the development of new power struggles that reveal themselves in the digital divide. In the dawning of the technological age that has brought us into a globalized

An increase in Internet maturity, correlates with an increase in real per capita GDP on average of $500. Looking back to the Industrial Revolution, it’s growth took 50 years to achieve these same results. This demonstrates both the magnitude and impact the internet delivers to all levels of society. In the French Economy, the internet had reported to have destroyed 500,000 jobs over the past 15 years, but has also over those same amounts of years has created 1.2 million new ones. For every job the internet has taken away, it’s created twice the amount. It’s safe to the internet has been able to increase the worlds GDP bringing great growth to the

During the time period under discussion from the Regan Revolution to our current President Obama, one major historical turning point was the creation of the Internet. This vast network of linked computers that allowed information to be shared easily and instantly, propelled the information technology of personal computers and cell phones forward at high speed. (Schultz, 2011) The ways that the Internet has changed life in the United States over the past two decades is vast. The economy has widely changed in this new age of technology, American companies reached overseas

In this chapter, Thomas Friedman looks at how cultures and societies will have to deal with and adapt to the changes that globalization brings to the way of doing business. It affects whole companies and individuals. He gives the perception of the world is flattening by comparing the Industrial Revolution to the IT Revolution that is happening right now. The flattening process was identified by Karl Marx and Frederich Engels in the Communist Manifesto, published in 1848. Marx’s writings about capitalism state “the inexorable march of technology and capital to remove all barriers, boundaries, frictions, and restraints to global commerce (Friedman 234).”

In the end, while Lyon and Hafner give us an entertaining story regarding how the Internet was discovered, we are still left wondering about what effect the Internet is actually having. True, we see all of the hard work that occurred behind the scenes in the making of the Internet in this book, but now the question must be asked: where does the Internet take us? This is a very important question in the context of where technology takes our culture, and takes humanity in general. Indeed, every piece of technology has an effect on the people within the culture. There is, after all, certain political and social consequences to the progress in technology. In his essay "Do

In Thomas Friedman’s The World Is Flat he presents his idea of the globalization of the world in all areas; from economic to communication with other countries. Friedman is a journalist from the New York Times and most of his work focuses on economic and technological innovations and advancements, and furthermore how they are associated to history. The ideas he presents in this book are both plausible and convincing. The main focus is whether the world is “flat“. The answer to this question depends on the readers’ political, economical, and technological opinions. Friedman does however present evidence in many situations where the globalization of the world is clearly evident. This essay will explore these different

Author Thomas L. Friedman analyses the technological advances that are creating a level economic playing field with previously disadvantaged countries rising in knowledge and wealth rivaling that of the United States and other world powers in the world. Telephone and computer technology, previously a stronghold only of developed countries, is now easily accessible and has been accessed and mastered by countries such as China and India, making these nations competitive. Friedman perceives the flattening effect as so insightful as to be compared in scope to the Industrial Revolution.

The ten "flatteners" in The World is Flat are 11/9/89, 8/9/95, work flow software, uploading, outsourcing, offshoring, supply-chaining, insourcing, in-forming, and the steroids

There are 7 individuals on the planet who hold the "key to the web." If in the occasion of a significant disaster the web is closed down these key holders will together have the capacity to reboot an essential piece of the framework. Computers are a radiant deed of engineering. They have developed from straightforward number crunchers to machines with numerous functions and abilities. Computers have gotten to be common to the point that practically every home has no less than one computer, and schools discover them a decent hotspot for data and training for their understudies. Computers have made new professions and dispensed with others and have left an enormous effect on our general public. The development of the computer has incredibly influenced expressions of the human experience, the business world, and society and history in numerous diverse zones, yet to see how extraordinary these progressions are, it is important to examine the sources of the computers. Innovation has changed the world and the future holds greater creations for every one of us. Numerous individuals have helped innovation. Three of the numerous individuals who have helped engineering are Tim Berners-Lee, Steve Ballmer, and Linus Torvalds. Without specific individuals we may have not seen a large portion of these new advances turning out so soon, but I believe the future holds more.