From the time of Christopher Columbus' discovery in 1492, it has been common knowledge that the world is round. Now, all of a sudden, this book claims the opposite is true. How can this be?
As I begin the first chapter, the author claims that globalization and technology have levelled the playing field making the world essentially flat. This has essentially happened very quickly, "While I Was Sleeping", as the first chapter is labelled. He theorizes that the flattening process occurred in three periods. Globalization 1.0 took place from 1492 to 1800. The second era, Globalization 2.0, lasted past the Great Depression and two world wars until the year 2000. Finally, Globalization 3.0 began in the year 2000 and continues in the present.
During each time period, the world shrank in size. We moved from countries globalizing in the first period, to companies in the second and finally to individuals collaborating and competing throughout the world. Each era was led by inventions and technology that paved the way to globalization.
I can certainly see a marked difference in how my children and my students communicate in today's world. Facebook, MSN, Twitter, wikis, blogs, google docs and other tools are paving the way to increased collaboration between people throughout the world. From podcasting to video conferencing, we can connect with experts in all walks of life. Sharing of ideas, images and documents is occurring freely on the web. Copyright has been replaced by Creative Commmons licensing as the new buzz word. And all of this has happened within the last few years and is growing at an alarmingly quick rate. As I see these changes rapidly taking place, I wonder, is the world of Star Trek really that far away?
No comments:
Post a Comment