The+World+is+Flat

The World is Flat
toc Read sections One, Two, and Three, especially focusing on the 10 Flatteners in section Two. Below each subheading below, write a 4-6 sentence summary of each "Flattener" and include 1-2 sentences describing the most interesting thing you read about for each Flattener. At the end of your response put the 4 ~ so we know whose is whose response. 1240376145
 * by Thomas Friedman**

Return to The Summer is Flat page.

Flattener #1 11/9/89
The fall of the Berlin Wall changed the mind's of people to think of the world differently, as a "seamless whole". The wall represented a barrier when the world could not act together as one since communism, capitalism, socialism and democracy were all clashing with one another. 11/9 encouraged economies to be driven by the public's demands and interest instead of being determined by a ruling minority. People felt they had more "freedom" to do business outside the country. 11/9 was not only felt by Berlin, but world wide to veiw the world as one. The most interesting i thought about thsi flattener was thate even though it only happened in Berlin, it affected the whole world to become a more "open" and change their mind sets. 1245815612

With the fall of the Berlin Wall, a cascade of events soon occured. Although there is no specific reason for why the wall fell, one large reason for the wall's destruction was the development of exchanging information to the world-wide public. Eventually, with the fall of the wall, the world began to see the economic viewpoint as a "whole" instead of themselves. They soon began to trade information and viewpoints with each other, flattening the world from a communist society to a more capital government. The most interesting thing that I found about the fall of the Berlin Wall was the effects of it afterwards. With the wall up, it not only acted as a physical barrier, but a mental barrier. People were unable to imagine a world were people can exchange information from other people. With the fall of the Iron Curtain, thw world soon started to change for the better. 1245878555

It all started with the fall of Berlin wall in 11/9/89 giving people freedom and tipping the balance of power across the world those advocating democratic, consensual and free-market-oriented governance. The fall of the wall made people think more globally, just as a single market, ecosystem and community, where everyone could share knowledge. A lot of common standards were created, and quickly adopted by everyone. Information revolution made communication technology, such as the PC available. Windows PC’s made each individual able to author and manipulate a larger amount of information all in digital form, which made it easier to share the information through email etc. The most interesting thing about this flattener is how many people the fall of the wall actually affected, not only the once in Germany, but people all over the world. 1247793824

Friedman believes the flattening of the world began with open economies. The iconic fall of the //Berlin Wall// created a ripple effect as other countries also began tearing down their own walls. The economic successes of these countries with open trade policies "tipped the balance of power toward... democratic, consensual, free-market-orientated governance". These broken walls paved the way for a more globalized, single market; naturally, the need for information sharing and the adoption of common standards ensued. However, Friedman also points out the 'information revolution' -- starting with the Windows-powerd PC -- factored in the breakdown of the //Berlin Wall.// Individuals were empowered by these new digital tools which took information sharing to new heights, and productivity increased. Personally, I had this bit to ponder: The successive opening up of economies in this so-called 'ripple effect' parallels the 'domino effect' of the Communists. Could it be just a trend? I thought it amusing that countries enjoyed trendsetting and emulating each other. So what about the EU and their common currency? Would Asia and the Americas follow? It's all a bit reminiscent of Orwell's 1984's Eurasia, Eastasia, and Oceania. 1248757731

Friedman writes that the fall of the Berlin Wall separating East and West Germany created an iconic effect that reverberated through the world. The fall represented a destruction of barriers, encouraging people to welcome new ideas - in particular, new ways to run an economy. It encouraged people to think in a global perspective. After the events of November 9th, Friedman compares the new thinking that occured to a Sanskrit love story, depicting a frog who lived in a well, whose view of the world was therefore constricted to what he could see out of the well. With the fall of the Berlin Wall, Friedman likens it to several frogs, each in their own well, sharing their views with each other. This comparison is thus an allusion to the widespread flattening of the globe, with countries becoming more open to new ideas due to the symbolic gesture of breaking down the barriers that the Berlin Wall represented. Along with the introduction of the personal computer, people became even more interconnected than before as sharing of information increased. One thing I find interesting about this flattener is that the cause of the flattening was not a tangible thing but rather an idea that universally captured peoples' way of thinking. 1249110205

The fall of the Berlin Wall did not just liberate the captives of the soviet empire, but it did much more. It affected many countries economies, as the fall of the wall brought into focus different ways of managing society, instead of focusing on one. Each system had a downside so all of them had to be compared. Yet clearly none was better than the other. As the comparisons continued, people changed their way of thinking and thus became more globalized instead of living in their own little well. One interesting thing about this flattener is how its not focused exactly on one thing, but many many different things that happened over a course of time. Also various countries decisions.1249380356

The fall of the Berlin wall was described as a physical and mental barrier in the minds of people and physically in Berlin. The fall of the Berlin wall led to freedom around the world. Since then people began to see the entire world as ‘one’ system, one single community living together. People begun to exchange ideas and information with each other. I found the fact that the wall was not only a physical barrier but a mental one interesting. I wouldn’t have thought that after the fall people would being to share information with each other. 1249890604 The fall of the Berlin Wall gave way people to think of the world as one. The fall helped many isolated countries open their world to others; countries started sharing information, working together. It created way for organizations such as the European Union and Euro currency. The economies of the countires grew at faster rate, and with the emergence of computers and internet, news ideas were being shared at a rapid rate. What i found interesting was how fast the fall of the Berlin Wall affected people around the world, in a short time, many events happened, which have changed the way we live now. 1249894959

The Berlin Wall acted as a physical and mental barrier, after it fell, it became a symbol as the destruction of barriers. Once the barriers are gone, people began sharing new and different ideas, both regarding economics and politics. After the fall, the European union began to expand, and started allocating resources to other places, get busy negotiating with other countries like Japan. Six months after the fall, the personal computer was intoduced, this is the first time where just about any person can start creating their own work in digital form without having to use resources from a large business company mainframe. I found it quite interesting how such a physical structure's destruction can cause a mental change that obviously had a much larger impact than the physical. user:ZetaZero

Using the world renowned fall of the Berlin wall in 1989, Friedman illustrates how the flattening of that immense structure, which resulted in the unity of East and West Germany, represents how technology is breaking down the technological 'Berlin Wall' which previously had limited communication between people. With the Berlin was now fallen, Europe started to become more of a whole, working together and communicating. This was also result of the greater amounts of people using technology in new ways; the large 'gap' between people was becoming smaller, the world was flattening. But I think using the fall of the Berlin Wall as an example/ symbol of people having the freedom to communicate using technology a bit of a stretch. The Berlin Wall represented so much more than just a communication barrier. user:annapettersen

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 signified not only the renewed freedom of residents of West Berlin, but also the beginning of an incredible change within the mindsets of people across the globe. The Iron Curtain itself is a symbol of the barrier between different ideals, most notably at that time the clash between different economic systems such as communism, socialism, and capitalism. Along with the wall itself, the mental barriers within people’s minds have also been shattered. People are now more willing to view the world and the interactions between countries more as a whole, instead of observing from a more self-centered point of view. What’s most interesting is the magnitude of the effect that the fall of the Berlin Wall on the world, not only in political matters, but economic workings as well. 1250121303

In this section, Freidman suggests that the fall of the Berlin wall was the initial catalyst to the “flattening” of the world, because it enabled people think as themselves as a part of a global society. Prior to ’89, it was difficult to see the world as a whole, as opposed to single, isolated countries scattered across the globe, due to not only a physical barrier, but also a political and mental barrier of narrow-mindedness. Once the Soviet Empire was weakened, people began to reach out and exchange ideas, thus beginning the process of globalization. People began to connect on a global scale, leading to the use of personal computers and the new age of creativity! One thing I found interesting about this chapter was the analogy of the frog in the well. I find it to be personally relatable in a way because I find that a lot of the time, entering an international community, such as this school, is very much like entering an entirely different plane. You once thought that the world ended at the edge of the well, when in fact there is something entirely new out there. 1250396104

Flattener #2 8/9/95
Soon after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Internet was developed. And soon after that, the World Wide Web was developed to further improve the usage of the Internet. The internet focuses primarily on connecting computer to compuer, while the World Wide Web allowed individuals to send data and information to each other through the internet. However, it did not stop there. With the World Wide Web increasing in development, Netscape soon came up with a web browser that completely changed the world. Now, people can easily access the World Wide Web, increasing the popularity of the product. With Netscape on the rise, people became more and more interested, creating new products and materials, such as Microsoft. What was interesting throughout the reading was how fast the development increased. What really drove the entire process through the ceiling was the creation of the web browser that allowed easier control over what could be seen and accessed. In just a few years, fiber optic cables also became a large investment, and other products as well 1245879986

With the internet, people all over the world could create and write up their own content for anyone to read. Email systems and networks allowed communication which were impossible to do before. With the help of Netscape, the World Wide Web became more accessible and easier for people to operate. As more and more people grew to love the internet, there was more incentive to create tools and applications online. Fiber optic cables became a very popular investment as more and more were installed to maintain the majoly increased usage of the internet. The most interesting I thought about this flattener was that it all started with one company, Netscape to produce a worldwide sensation. 1246390594

When the PC-Windows era had reached its heights, anyone with a personal computer can author digital content, but what to deal with that content? The world needed another breakthrough, thus came the World Wide Web and Web browser. The WWW uplifted the internet, making it as describable as “a magical realm where individuals could post their digital content for everyone to access”. This greatly flattened the world as information sharing suddenly become so easy, making it vastly popular and the usage of the internet dramatically increased. With increased usage, Fiber Optic cables came into play, in order to uphold this kind of usage. I found it very amusing how something as non-physical as information; its transfer can bring about so much more possibility in the world. user:ZetaZero

The World Wide Web, created by Tim Berners Lee, was another huge flattening force, which allowed individuals to easily browse the Internet, thus creating a low cost global connectivity. In the process of developing the Internet, Netscape is another flattening force making users able to surf the web with a browser easy accessible for everyone, and helped the Internet to be more interoperable. Windows 95’ came right after the Netscape development, and became the OS used by most people. It included a build in Internet support so that browsers and PC applications could interact with the Internet. Furthermore the .com stock bubble and the over investment in fiber optic cables to carry all information made it possible to move digitized labour to lower cost countries like India. Mosaic browser integrated graphics making the websites more viewable. The Internet started the digitization revolution, where words, music, film was turned into bits and bytes, and could be easily created and shared. I think the most interesting thing about this flattener is how people valued compatibility making it possible for everyone to be connected with each other, and not only countries individually. 1247794723

The concept of the Internet, the World Wide Web, Tim-Berners Lee, standard protocols, e-mails, Web browsing, and fiber optics took the PC one step further: It moved away from a limited interaction between man and machine to a widespread connection between man, machine, and anyone else who also had a computer. This improved communication and production immensely. Thus the digital revolution was born -- creativity was on a run, and the information AND media on the Web grew in complexity and diversity. Furthermore, computers became something "any idiot, scientist, student, kindergartener, or grandma or grandpa" could use, with the help of easy graphic-oriented browsers, and low-priced internet connections thanks to the Dot-com bubble. I found the Dot-com bubble very interesting. I thought it was overinvestment in internet companies, not fiber optic cables. 1248758741

Friedman cites the second Flattener as the creation of the World Wide Web, and the Web Browser, specifically Netscape. The creation of the Internet introduced a new sense of connectivity, allowing people to share information with each other, despite physical distances. The introduction of Netscape - the first commerically available web-browser, further compounded the effects of this flattener. As Netscape was publically available, an interconnectivity was achieved wihin the globe. The Internet was made freely available to any person who owned a computer - whether it was a "five year old, or a ninety-five year old." The release of Windows 95 following Netscape's debut increased the usability of the computer, making the distribution of information even more readily accessible. As the Internet grew more popular, people began creating new applications to accomodate for this surge in popularity, from new browsers capable of supporting and rendering graphics for ease of web-surfing, to fiber-optic cables which increased the amount of data capable of being transferred, therefore accommodating for the surge in traffic. I find it very interesting how something we now take for granted, started out as a single innovation that led to an increasingly 'flat' world.1249117704

The second Flattener was the World Wide Web, created by Tim Berners Lee, which was made accesible via Netscape. This World Wide web allowed people to share data from one machine to another, and thus communication and connectivity came into play. As a "bubble" was created, people began for the mad rush towards the digitization revolution in which everything was made, well, digital. investors put down all those fiber optic cables and began to invest in it. But this was too much so eventually this over-investment brought their own dismay as prices became too cheap for much profit, an it became a disaster for these companies. What i found interesting in this was how the business industry worked in their investments, the overinvesting brought them to bankruptcy yet, it helped along the world in becoming flatter, and the expansion of the web. 1249466547

The fall of the Berlin wall was followed by the creation of the internet and the personalized computer (PC), and web browsers which made the World Wide Web more accessible for everyone who owned a PC. With this explosion of demand for PCs and web-browsers different firms begun to compete with each other, mainly Netscape and Microsoft. Slowly more and more people were drawn to the internet, and hence increasing the demand for more digitized things, such as photos, music, books, etc. However sharing these digitized things were difficult since there were many different companies producing their own web browsers, which were not compatible with each other, until later. What I found interesting was that the internet was never designed with an original intention to allow people to share music, photos, or movies, but for scientists and researchers to share their research and data with each other.1249890604

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, PC and the internet started blooming. Tim Berners-Lee created a document that would allow him to share his information with other scientists, this gave way for the first ever public browser called Netscape. Netscape was accessible and more useful to all ages, and made the internet a big hit for consumers, and caused them want more. Microsoft 95 would be released, it was the first windows with in built internet. Soon after the microsoft 95 was released demand went higher, which caused the internet to boom, allowing people to put images, musics, book etc. I found it intersting that Friedman says that we take browsers for granted and i find that true, with the browsers the internet would have never boomed in the way it has. 1249895971

In the years following the fall of the Berlin Wall, the public interest in PCs increased as internet had entered the scene. While Windows 95 was the first windows which used internet as a part of the system (allowing it to have access to almost every programme), the original version of a internet browser was created in order to share documents. Used generally for informational documents needed to be seen by someone who was maybe on the other side of the country, or who simply wanted to be able to view the document from home without printing it, with the in-buildt browser, the public became more involved. This resulted in an expansion of content on the internet. I like how the people took what browers gave them, and ran with it; the public managed to expand the internet with content it was never expected to contain. user:annapettersen

The introduction of the internet and the following development of the World Wide Web opened up an entire frontier of interaction. Communication between individuals is now easier than ever with the use of email systems and networks. Alongside these new innovations is the introduction of Netscape’s web browser, complete with easy-to-use interfaces that virtually changed the entire world of communication and information-sharing. In addition, with these amazing developments, fiber optic cables became a very profitable investment. What interests me the most is the speed that all of these new technologies are being developed. Even within the short time span of less than two decades of 1995 to today, innovations on the Web has improved dramatically, to say the least. 1250121303

This flattener introduces the idea of connecting on a global scale through the use of the internet and personal computers. Here, Freidman introduces us to the dot com bust/boom/bubble. It began with the invention of the World Wide Web and Netscape, all thanks to Mr. Berners-Lee. Without him, it would have been extremely difficult to communicate and collaborate as a global society. Berners-Lee created the World Wide Web, which in time led to the invention of Netscape, the first commercial internet browser. This enabled the world to enter the next stage - the age of connectivity! Of course, amongst all the excitement over the Net and a newfound globalized society, people were bound to over-invest, which led to the dot-com bubble. What I found interesting in this section was how quickly businesses leaped so blindly into the investment of fibre-optic cables. I liked how this eventually put developing countries such as India on the map, as Freidman later discusses. 1250396104

Flattener #3 Work Flow Software
In the span of two to three years, the world has taken a turn for the better. With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the opening of Windows that allows inidivudals to create their own content, to the spread of the Internet and the Web, that enabled more people to be connected and to share their content with others, the emergence of standardized transmission pipes and protocols have connected everyone's machines and software applications. Not only that, it has also encouraged the developedment of standardized business processes for easier usage of commer or work. People soon became more focused on what they were making, instead of how they were making it. This flat is amazing in that many people are more focused on the internet and the berlin wall incident. However, I believe that the usage of software, and the eventual inexpensive qualities of it, has really been one of the largest turning points in history. While the internet may have changed the lives of millions, along with the web, people want to express more through the web, instead of only through their computers and a limited amount of others. With the integration of software, the barriers that kept people from spreading information to whoever has fallen. 1245881885

The first breakthrough for work flow software was the Internet, PC and email put together. This saved time to make work flow more effecient without having the need to have everything written down on paper and communicating via phone. Windows-enabled PC allowed users to create their own digital content which again aided authors, typewriters, etc. With new software (HTML) and the help of the internet, there aren't any barriers to stop the spread of information around the World. Expression of knowledge, ideas and opinion can be exchanged. I think the most improtant thing i found interesting that without the internet, life would be so much harder or what we think is hard. Before, information exchange was slow and took time as only snail mail was available. Thinking about all the oppurtunity the internet brings is amazing. 1246391104

Another flattener is the rise and integration of work flow software, which allows people in more places to design, display, manage and collaborate on business data, such as producing a cartoon segment by using virtual private network. This flattener was created based on the other flatteners wall-PC-Netscape innovations, starting with the combination of PC and email, and furthermore the standardization made us able to flow seamlessly and transfer data. The software industry was also important in the process and made programmes, such as SMTP allowing the exchange of emails, and the different protocols allowed people to share other content than just standardized word documents. As everyone applications started to connect to everyone else’s applications work really started to flow between different corners of the world. AJAX is a web developed technique that allows business applications to be embedded onto a web page, offered by for example salesforce.com giving small businesses easy access to business tools, letting us just rent from the web. This allows us to create a virtual company giving us access to some of the powerful tools, not limited by boundaries of office and country. The most interesting thing about this flattening force is how the workflow software made people able to collaborate, through uploading, outsourcing, off shoring, supply chaining, in sourcing, in-forming, even though they live in different parts of the world, making it easier to make use of people’s expertise. 1247795767

"Work Flow Software" -- this next flattener focuses a largely on a massive revolution in standardization of transmission protocols, business processes, tasks, and systems. Before, communication between machines were imperfect, the "flows" were stunted. With standardization, everything //flowed//, became interoperable and interconnected; it cleared away the "extraneous" so that people could "focus on what really mattered." People took advantage of this faster flow of information to enhance collaboration, innovation, and creativity, allowing for a rise in productivity. This was achieved primarily through the use of faster, more cost-effective online business services, which also came about through this boom of creativity from the World Wide Web. What really caught my attention here was the concept of doing business online.The owners of business Webs, such as Salesforce.com for instance, have all this information about various companies at their hands. Keeping it's confidentiality must be a tough problem. Nevertheless, I think once the Internet becomes more tightly controlled and easily regulated in the future, this may not be an issue. 1248765044

Friedman describes Work Flow Software as the third factor in the world's flattening. With the advent of the Internet, web protocols, Operating Systems and so on, everything became compatible with one another, creating an interoperable system that allowed for work to become smooth and efficient. More transmission protocols, as well as more applications that allowed us to get the most out of our computers, further improved work flow. This allowed business to be conducted in a simpler and more efficient manner, meaning that overseas business could also be accommodated much more easily, further globalizing and thus flattening the world. Friedman stresses that for the world to be flat, all systems must be interoperable, that is, compatible with each other. Only then can productivity effectively increase. He states as an example a sales and inventory department running two different operating systems - it is cases such as these that prevent the highly important interoperability, therefore hindering the production process. 1249117704

This flatliner is the rise and integration of workflow software all over the world. This allowed people to “design, display, manage, and collaborate on business data, previously handled manually. However, companies could not communicate as well with each other since their systems were different and had different languages, preventing people from different companies to exchange information. This generated the demand for a standardized protocol. So the software industry created SMTP simple mail transfer protocol. As well as HTTP + TCP/IP this allowed information to be shared between everyone anywhere with any type of computer. This allowed the exchange of email messages between different computer systems. When it was integrated worldwide, work started to flow within and between companies and continents faster than ever. However the needs for machines to be able to communicate with each other arise soon after the integration of HTTP + TCP/IP. So the software industry conjured up XML (extensible markup language) and SOAP (simple object access protocol) giving the ability for any two computer programs to share formatted data in any format. Which allowed everyone and everything connected to the internet that had integrated a standard protocol to communicate with each other with. E-commerce was an idea explored, hence leading to the creation of paypal, which allows customer to customer transactions and AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML). Allowed for easier E-commerce. I would be interested to see what else we would be able to do online.1249890604

Work flow software is the third flattener that Friedman talks about, this flattener allows people to collaborate and communication about their Ideas, work to other people. With the use of email, it made it easier for people to communicate with others, so the software industry created SMTP, simple mail transfer protocol. Other protocols such as HTML, TCP/IP, XML were also created to make the internet flow more. Its interesting how all of these protocols were made to interconnect with each other and how well they work.1250440329

Work flow software flattened the world by acting as a medium that boosts the productivity of the individual PC users. The appearance of HTML created a massive wave, it enabled anyone to design and publish documents and data so that they could be transmitted to, and read on, any computer anywhere. TCP/IP and HTML greatly increased the interchanging of data over the internet, more and more contribute images, texts, files in a fast paced, increasing momentum. It was interesting how one breakthrough, can be such a strong trigger to cause a powerful ripple effect, greatly altering the known world. user:ZetaZero

The rising use of PCs and internet continued to flatten the world as e-mail, internet and computers seemed to be continuously become more and more inter-twined. As new businesses were being created based of off the internet, communication systems such as e-mail were the most useful and effective ways to communicate with business partners or buyers. The fact that e-mail was practically free made it the ultimate communication tool. With the creation of HTML, the spread of information, personal opinions, texts and images of the web increased rapidly. It seems to me that in the past couple of years, new additions to the internet world (communication systems, file sharing) have slowed down compared to the rapid pace in earlier years. user:annapettersen

Shortly after the innovations presented in the previous two flatteners, the development and spread of work flow software followed. Building on people’s more open mindset after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the ever-increasing efficiency of communication between individuals, work flow software is designed to standardize methods of business and processes to make tasks simpler and easier to achieve. With this increasing efficiency, businesses are now able to focus more on the products and services they can create, instead of how to achieve their basic tasks first. It’s interesting to note that all of these developments surface one after the other, similar to knocking over dominoes; once it has started, there is no stopping its momentum. 1250121303

At this stage, it is easier to spot a level playing field. Once we have standardized software, companies and individuals are able to communicate at a global level, which in turn increases productivity. I was stunned by the intensity of the “Higglytown Heroes,” and Wild Brain’s ability to collaborate universally between New York, Los Angeles, London, and even so far as Bangladore. In addition to increasing productivity, this allows for the playing field to be levelled for both developed and developing nations. “Third World countries” are no longer destined solely to low-income manual labour. In a way, standardized software provides the opportunity to clean up high risk and underclass jobs. Secondly, I think it’s interesting how companies have learned to adapt to barriers such as time zones, and use them to their advantage; while one side of the world has just turned in from a days work at the office, the other side is waking up and ready to begin work. That way, it is a “24/7/365” process and information is always, always at your fingertips. 1250396104

Flattener #4 Uploading
Uploading is a new idea that many people are taking into consideration. Beforehand, internet users were usually consumers instead of producers. However, with the introduction of blogging, many people have taken notice the power available to them. Of the ten flatteners, it has the potential of being the most disruptive to the world: people can post opinions and facts that others may not want shown in public. Not only that, distribution of ideas and works can easily be uploaded and spread throughout the internet. Software and such have made sharing a much easier process, wikipedia allows the spread of information, and blogging/podcasting have given a voice to the people. What was most interesting to me was the idea that uploading in only on the rise. I would have believed that with the introduction of the internet itself, more people would have began the idea of uploading their own material on the web, due to the fact that nothing had been available to them in the beginning.1245903686

The results of Podcasting and the creation of Wikipedia is all because of uploading. With the new idea of Blogging, people could use this application to make their ideas and opinions known to the public and gain recognization. With software and programs to aid uploading, the process of contributing to a base of shared informtion is much easier. A network or a hub of the community can help solve problems one man cannot do alone. Uploading brings everyone involved to improve matters. I think the most interesting fact is that uploading can help people's voices to be heard and be considered. for example, some bloggers have become celebrities (Perez Hilton). 1246707994

Community developed software is another flattening force, which can be uploaded and used by everyone an example could be the web server Apache. Uploading is the real flattening force, and it allows people t o upload content, like music, put it on Wikipedia, and it also allows people to upload files and globalize the content, like writing a book review, uploading a podcast or a movie. Uploading is a huge collaborating force, which makes us participants instead of an audience. Community developed software is a collaborations process to create software, anyone who can contribute and improve it can do it, and everyone can download it for their use. Apache is an example of community-developed software, collaborating to build a web server using an open source chat room. The Apache collaborators they wanted to solve the web serving problems, and found out that collaborating for free was the best way to assemble the best brains from all over the world. Blogging came after the community developed software and is a open source newsroom were information flows with freedom, due to individuals with tape recorder, camera enabled cellphone and a website. People without journalistic skills were now able to upload content from crime scenes. I think the most interesting thing about this flattener is how people from all over the world were now able to collaborate and contribute with their specific area of knowledge having an active and participatory approach, and also creating free software such as Linux making kids from India on cheap PC’s able to do the same things on their computers as a large company in America. 1247796947

For this flattener, the keyword is Push... or Uploading. Thanks to the Web technologies that have allowed for easy media creation and sharing, the result is Web logs, Podcasts, community developed software, among other multimedia creations //pushed// out from individuals -- average people, you, me, anyone -- for worldwide criticism on the World Wide Web. These individual creators threaten multinational media giants and corporations; Traditional publication systems are abolished, and individuals are given a fair chance for attention just through their innovative thoughts and ideas alone. Friedman notes several non-commercial successes, which incude Linux, Apache, Wikipedia, and Firefox. Despite these successes, Friedman also considers the extent of this flattener -- the possibilities of individuals, the people, taking over industry -- and realizes the downsides: No economic incentives, no certain reliability. Nevertheless, this flattener gave each individual a giant boost, and it nonetheless made people even more interconnected, by allowing people to better be heard and participate. I found the personal story about 'John Seigenthaler' and Wikipedia very sad. I also thought it was very "newbish". Everybody knows Wikipedia is a casual source of information, and rumors, if not spread by Wikipedia, will spread anyway by other means. There is no reason to use Wikipedia as a whipping boy. 1248780006

The Uploading phenomena is described as another flattener. The creation of the Internet has led to several innovations, one of which is that of allowing User-Generated content. People can now upload, or push, their ideas, their thoughts, and their creations onto the World Wide Web, creating an interconnectivity that further flattens the world. This sharing of personal content allows people to display themselves on the Internet to the entire world, rendering the physical distance between them to an almost non-existent point. Individuals now stand a chance next to large scale media moguls, with Friedman pointing out successes such as Wikipedia or Linux as proof. I think that this particular flattener is one of the most interesting - it is another example of something our generation now takes for granted. Sites such as Twitter, Youtube, etc are now part of our daily vocabulary, and yet we seem to fail to appreciate the power of this innovation. It is things such as this that allow the 'everyman' to make a significant impact on our world. Before, one needed financial backing, extensive knowledge, and other such assets before proceeding to open a business or venture, or even just display their work. Now the Internet allows almost anybody with a computer and determination to make themselves heard. At the same time, it also makes it very hard to succeed. Take webcomics for example. Before the Internet was littered with user-created comics, uploading your work online would almost guarantee you readership. However, now that thousands of such works permeate the Internet, more often than not decent efforts worthy of attention are lost into obscurity, drowned by a sea of perhaps more mediocre work. 1249117704

The new idea of uploading files and community developed software is described as another flattening force. Web servers such as apache allowed people to upload software that they have developed for specific tasks that fit their demands, and share it with anyone who wants to download and use it. This took away the middle men that stood between producer and customer. It also redirected the demand for reviews and other commercially produced goods such as the New York Times book review which you have to subscribe to. People could just read personal book reviews on Amazon.com. Everyone had a new found power to upload their products, ideas, media, thoughts etc online for free. Hence reshaping the flow of creativity, innovation, and information gathering all around the world. What I found interesting was that there are “Terrorist-Geeks” as labeled by Friedman, since they upload their own news, reports, and threats online for everyone to view.1249890604~

Uploading files from your computer on to the web may have been one of the most important developments in internet's growth. Without the ability to upload files, todays generation of bloggers, vloggers and such would never have been able to share their thoughts and opinions to the world. Also, the creation of companies would have been limited without the ability to upload, f.ex. images of their products to show to the potential customer viewing their page. Web-sites which today's youth generally use of an everyday-basis are highly dependent on uploading files. Web-sites such as Facebook, MySpace and previously mentioned YouTube would have not been able to flourish the way they have without uploading. I think we (I know I do) take uploading for granted, it's expected now for your PC and internet to allows you to upload content whenever you want. user:annapettersen

With the introduction of the idea of uploading, sharing ideas and expressing opinions have been taken to a whole new level. With developments such as blogging, Wikipedia, podcasts, and more, people have been empowered to freely present themselves to the entire world. However, it is important to note that this flattener is possibly the most influential and volatile of the ten. Individuals are now able to freely write about and share ideas, opinions, files, and more. Certain individuals have the power to distribute information and ideas that offend those who read it, and spread viruses among millions of internet users. I feel that while uploading is certainly an amazing way to communicate and share your ideas, it also carries a considerable risk, as one can see in today’s rampant spread of viruses and internet trolls. 1250121303

In this flattener Friedman talk about uploading, one of the biggest innovations for the internet. Uploading allows people to put their stuff online, like music, videos, pictures etc. Uploading makes it easier for people contribute their ideas on the internet, this caused people to create large online community, such as facebook, youtube, etc. I believe uploading is a one of the biggest achievments of web 2.0 as it made the internet usable for everyone. 1250440887

Uploading is the essential portion of sharing. By being capable of uploading, the information, program, file, or data in any form is able to be accessed by others on the internet. This prompted a large variety of community developed programs, and allowed people to contribute to the internet and make it into a powerful resource. With the ability to upload, opinions and views can be shared among others with common interest, community developed answers provide a second viewpoint where the original retailer may not have provided, thus giving the user more information to help make their decisions. Funny enough, although that uploading can be massively helpful at times, it also made the internet abnormally risky. Some people just can’t live with what they have, so they mess with other, such as spammers, virus makers and extremely annoying pop-ups that somehow can magically pass through popup blockers... user:ZetaZero

This flattener was all about uploading and the involvement of the community in creating software and voicing their opinion to the general public. It was particularly interesting to read about because I found it to be the most relatable so far. Freidman comments on the “facebook.com phenomenon” and its ability to broadcast the personal feelings and opinions of your network of friends, at a moment’s notice. Facebook gives the average person the opportunity to feel ‘important,’ just by giving a sentence-long, daily (or sometimes HOURLY) status. I was also highly interested in the section ‘Wikipedia: Community-uploaded Content’ and how rapidly content seemed to be spreading, whether it was accurate or otherwise. The example used in the book about John Seigenthaler Sr. was a little bit of a rude awakening for me. I still don’t understand how false information was spread to three different online sources before it was corrected. This is the downside to community-uploaded content; how often do sources like Wikipedia need to be monitored for updaters with malicious intent or simply those who are misinformed? 1250396104

Flattener #5 Outsourcing
Outsourcing is defined as a subcontracting process that allows companies to split their service and manufacturing activities in different components. By doing so, Friedman argues that outsourcing can be subcontracted and performed in the most efficient, cost-effective way. This is further accomplished with the mass distribution of fiber optic cables that were placed during the introduction of the World Wide Web. As a result, India has risen in power, using their own labor to further provide workers at other companies. The dot-com boom had laid the cable taht connected India to the world, while the bust made the ost of using it virtually free and also vastly increasing the number of American companies that would want to use the fi isbeijingitgs - The World is Flat ber-optic cale to outsource knowledge in India. What I found interesting was that this was the beginning of companies hiring workers from out of the country. Not only that, it has allowed companies to further outsource whatever than can outsource, a typical economic viewpoint where the market tries to use all their possible factors of production to maximize their profits.1245991413

Outsourcing is the idea that processes done by companies can be split up due to abilities to create a more efficient and cost-effective way. Just like how companies may use Indian brains and American technologies. With the help of the Internet, applications and the ability to upload, outsourcing proves to be a further flattener as companies can have headquarters in different places and work together. since labor in India is cheaper, companies can maximize its brain power in India and at the same time, have its main headquarter in America. With this interesting new flattener in mind, I had a big question, what about all the brain power in America? I wondered if this would affect jobs in America since companies were moving to developing countries as it was much more economical. 1247058486

The fact that the Indians educated their people meant that they could immigrate to America, but then because of the fiber optic cables well-educated Indians could now stay in India, and in the same time work for Americans. The labour price was much cheaper and things such as digitizing and updating dictionaries were transferred to India. Also the medical outsourcing allowing doctors to dictate into a Dictaphone and let Indians digitize it as a text file sending it back to the hospitals database before the next day. The fiber optic cables made it possible, and also the Y2K crisis could be solved by using outsourcing – a new form of collaboration, which started a new flattener. Y2K was India’s engine of growth because no one else had enough software engineers to solve the problem. I think the most interesting part for this flattener is the fact, because of the time difference we can get work done during the night by outsourcing it to India, and the fact that many of the Indians are skilled engineers for low cost, which make upcoming company’s able to afford good labour. 1247797701

Outsourcing is when when businesses in developed countries hire people from developing countries to work for them. It can be a small, specialized task such as a help-line service in India, or some programming done in China. While "quality" is a separate and controversial issue, one thing is certain in that outsourcing is a surefire way to cut costs. Outsourcing becomes a flattener since it requires collaboration between people of different countries, it can turn companies from domestic to multinational. Friedman believes Y2K brought America and India together, because American companies began hiring young Indian graduates from India's IITs then as a way to save costs. I found the whole issue of Y2K very amusing; Sure I lived through it, but I had no real idea what it meant. I once heard my friend say that when it happened, red bars zoomed across his PC, but I think he was lying.1248850712

Friedman describes outsourcing as the fifth flattener. Because domestic labor can be expensive, many companies and corporations choose to hire employees from overseas, where labor costs are much less expensive. Labor from countries such as China and India is often hired via outsourcing. Friedman cites outsourcing as a flattener, as it allows collaboration between two nations, via the interaction of the two countries. This allows for a company to become an international venture, and in this way is effective in globalization. Friedman writes that the Y2K event aided in kickstarting this flattener - as many companies attempted to hire technicians to solve the potential problem, many American businesses hired Indian employees. The low cost allowed them to hire more technicians and thus dissolve the problem more effectively. As I read about this, I realized that India's policy of educating all its students in English helped to shape it as one of the premier outsourcing resources, as labor from India could not only be cheap, but also equally, if not even more, effective as domestic labor. 1249117704

America saw India as a “knowledge pool”, since India had its Indian Institutes of Technology, which were like factories, producing the most gifted engineering, computer science and software talent on the globe. Most of which traveled to America to reach their full potential. But with the underlying continental fiber optic cables that India bought earlier, Indian graduates could now stay at home and work for Americans. With the Y2K bug, Indian workers were employed to do all the programming and fixing up. Since no other country had a strong enough workforce with the brainpower to do all the programming needed to fix the Y2K bug. I found the idea of outsourcing interesting, especially with America and India, where work could be sent from America to India for analysis and due to the 12 hour time difference Indian workers could work on it while the Americans sleep and have it ready for the Americans in the morning, all for a low price.1249890604~

With the internet booming at a fast pace, Major American companies looked to other countries to do their work for a lower price. Countries like China and India were the major places to get you work done and cheap. India had a huge population and had many gifted engineering, big companies started taking note of this and started giving the gifted Indians jobs. India soon became a major hub for outsourcing work. When the Y2K crisis hit the world, India was a major part of the solution. Computer companies gave the Indians the job to fix all the problems, which would have cost $1000 for just $50. I never knew what the Y2K crissis was i heard alot about it before and i always thought it was bike :) but i never knew it was such an important event. 1249897363

Outsourcing is done by splitting the manufacture work to different areas overseas where the man power cost is lower than where the company is. This flattener allows the collaboration of people from different places. The people, or the brains of India are outsources to different countries like America and Europe, to handle engineering and financial work from those countries. By doing such, small companies outsource themselves to larger companies and expand their audience along the way. Eventually become a large international company themselves. The most interesting fact is that while the company is cutting cost, its increasing unemployment rates for their own country. user:ZetaZero

Because of the fast and simple ways in which the internet had allowed people to communicate and share files with people who lives miles away, the fact that businesses began outsourcing (dividing the workload of the company between several locations) was not unexpected. Still, the thought of a business sending their financial information to India to be processed by someone who had never even met his co-workers in America is a bit mind-blowing. Outsourcing gives smaller companies to expand their target audience and allows them to have the chance to become international companies. Perviously, only large, well established companies had enough money to build office buildings all over the world, but with the internet, the novice businesses had a chance to reveal themselves to a wider audience. I really like this use of the internet, it makes you think that anybody can create a solid business out of practically nothing. user:annapettersen

Outsourcing is essentially an idea in which companies split up processes and manufacturing tasks into separate components. Companies can now use multiple resources from different sources (possibly from outside of the country, as one can see from the rise of India’s workforce) in order to maximize efficiency and minimize cost. For example, one company may hire workers from another country. This is only further helped along by the increasing efficiency of the internet, which allowed easy communication between multiple headquarters in between countries. However, it’s interesting to note that in the process of outsourcing and using resources outside of one’s country, one may also be depriving of one’s own country’s work force and availability of jobs. 1250121303

In this chapter, Freidman introduces the steps which eventually caused India to become the country that “turbocharged” globalization. I found the first step, which was outsourcing medical information, to be the most interesting. America began with outsourcing confidential information halfway across the world. I found this to be a little strange. In my opinion, medical information above all things should be handled with the most care, because if it is mishandled, that may be at the expense of the patient’s health. I should think that the well being of a patient might trump the speed and cost at which the information is being organized. However, speed might also play a positive role for a patient’s well being, for if the information is handled quickly and efficiently, a patient problem can be resolved quickly, and symptoms can be diagnosed more quickly as well. I also learned something new from this chapter; that the second-buyer in a business situation has the better end of the deal. It makes sense to me now, but I’d never imagined that a developing country would play such an important business role so soon. 1250396104

Flattener #6 Offshoring
With China on the rise, many people became troubled by the newly created power struggle of the market. China's entrance to the World Trade Organization has allowed greater competition between Malaysia, Mexico, and Brazil. To compensate for the loss, many companies have begun offshoring, relocating a company's manufacturing or other processes to a foreign country, taking advantage of the low costs, such as labor or factors of production. In addition, it has allowed China to rise in ranks, and become one of the most impacting nation to the world, generating more than 21 percent of the U.S. economic output, produce 56 percent of U.S. exports, and employ three-fifths of all manufacturing employees. What I found most interesting in this flattener was how it had severely impacted China's economic market. Not only did it bring China into the business world, it had allowed millions to spread their work evenly and work efficiently, instead of wasting time in each individual task 1245990225

Offshoring is when companies move their factories to locations which are more cost effective and economical. Eversince china joined the WTO, the world’s trading system has increased and grown at a much faster rate. With China’s cheap labour and tax rates, countries such as American have started moving factories to China. Products can be manufactured there the same at much lower costs. China has become a major manufacturing base for big companies, generating more than 21% of the US economic output, producing US exports at 56 % and employing three-fifths of all manufacturing employees, about 9 million workers. What was very interesting was that China managed to grow so fast economically in such a short period of time. Now they are working with biggest economies in the world, which they are part of right now. 1247485987

Since China has joined WTO everyone needs to run faster, and their goal is that things should be produced AND designed in China. Offshoring is, where factories were moved from companies’ hometown to China in order to get the same product with lower cost. The fact that China joined WTO in 2001 ensured companies that they would be protected by international law and standards this made China more open to the 10 flatteners. The competitive factors for factory owners are taxes, land cost, labor cost they all need to be low so that the wholesale price is lowest and most competitive. Although offshoring to China gave many benefits, many things should be taken into consideration, like skilled managers, copyright, patent etc. Factories in America get cheaper parts to produce and use in their factories for the more skill needed procedures. The most interesting part for this flattener is how China as a country is a huge flattening force itself, although China will never get flat if it doesn’t get a political reform. The fact that we can design and invent things in America, which we can then get produced with low cost in China, is a huge advantage for both countries. 1248494521

Offshoring is similar to outsourcing, except they move the factories and manufacturer to another location where taxes and labor are lower, or legally friendly to what they are doing instead. A lot of companies offshore to China since China joined the WTO, this not only is beneficial to the company who is doing the offshoring, but also the country who is being offshored. The company gets to pay less tax and subsidize energy and less health insurance, while China gets a power-up in amount of goods and technology. I really like this flattener, it makes me see a future where everything is “made in China” haha. user:ZetaZero

When China joined the World Trade Organization, China became a prime place for "offshoring" -- foreign factories moving out to places with "cheaper labor, lower taxes, subsidized energy, and lower health-care costs". It became a flattener because China is becoming more open to foreign trade, and absorbing new, advantageous technologies and business practices. Further, China is setting up an example for other developing countries to compete with offshoring. China's long-term goal is to be at the top. In offshoring, Friedman finds that both parties are beneficiaries, such as in offshore investment, or domestic employees becoming more skilled and having less to do with unskilled work. This kind of global collaboration, mostly done over the Internet, is a major flattener. However, their is still politics in the way for China to reach the top. The more I read this, the more I thought how limited this book was in terms of really describing the world. Friedman writes "Three United States are better than one, and five would be better than three." That thought is scary, considering that if there were three United States right now, apocalypse would have happened, in terms of natural resources, food, population and pollution. This book is limited to globalization and globalization alone. It doesn't consider the barriers to this kind of simultaenous economic expansion. 1248852152

During the time of Mao's rule, China's economy was very closed to the world, as it's laws and regulations prevented foreign businesses from becoming successful within the country. However, after Deng Xiaoping's reforms influenced the country to join the World Trade Organization, China became a prime location for off-shoring. Friedman describes off-shoring as a process in which foreign businesses build factories and other production plants in a country where labor, health care, and production costs are all cheaper. In this case, China's acceptance of non-domestic business ventures, combined with the relatively cheap production costs, made it an ideal off-shoring location. Friedman notes that China's membership in the WTO, along with off-shoring in general, has further flattened the world. By allowing countries to take advantage of its labor, China has opened itself to the world, creating an interconnectivity between nations that has led to a globalized community. Furthermore, Friedman writes that China has set an example for other countries with similar economic situations in terms of off-shoring, further compounding the effects of globalization as more countries begin to connect themselves with others. What I found interesting about this flattener is the possibility for a world that is truly interconnected. For example, many countries prevent any foreign ventures from even setting up shop within domestic grounds - however, if every country somehow participates in another foreign business, it is possible that the entire globe may become even more dependent on one another, thereby achieving a, perhaps, unified world. It sounds very idealistic, but it'd be nice if it were even remotely possible. 1249201867

China joining the world trade organization took Beijing and the whole world to a new level of offshoring. As companies began to offshore, other competitors needed to offshore as well, since it’s the only way they could compete with the other companies that have already begun to offshore. However setting up shop in China was the easy part for most of these companies that offshored. The difficult part was finding local Chinese managers that could run the factory along capitalist lines, concentrating on exports and making the ‘world class’ products for China. What I found most interesting was that China itself was a flattening force. And if countries could not find a way to get into its market, then they would be “flattened” by China and find itself lost in China’s dust.1249890604~

When China opened its doors to the world by joining the World Trade Organization, it being the major hub for offshoring, many companies started moving factories over to China as it was cheaper and more efficient. Labor cost, health care, protection from international law made China more open for companies. Other countries such as India, Brazil, Vietnman, Malaysia are now looking to do the same as China, making it easier to for them to be on of the top countries. I find it interseting that even big compaines that have lasted so many years have to look to China now to surivie.1249900175

When companies switch to manufacturing their product outside the country in which the company itself is located, this is known as offshoring. As China and India, as well as other Asian countries, became known for their cheap, yet effective production of goods, larger American companies would move the production of their product for an American factory to, f.ex., a Chinese one. Because of the cheap labour, the products became cheaper to produce, thus lowering the sales price thus pleasing the public as well as generating a profit for the company. This is possible largely due to China's initiation into the World Trade Organization, allowing companies to move their production lines to Asia. I wonder how long it will be till all products as produced in China... user:annapettersen

China’s acceptance into the World Trade Organization poses as great competition for countries such as Brazil, Malaysia, Mexico, etc., since China offers a massive workforce for the minimal cost. In order to compete, companies now utilize offshoring, a move in which companies relocate to a foreign country in order to exploit low production costs and high availability of resources. In addition, offshoring has also allowed countries to quickly boost their economic power, as one can see in China’s case. Today, China produces more than half of the US’s exports. The idea of this flattener itself is interesting because my dad is an expatriate of his company, now working to establish a new base of operations in China due to low production costs. 1250121303

In this section, Freidman discusses China’s role in off-shoring, the process of re-locating factories to a place that is most efficient and less expensive, due to tax and cost of manual labour. China’s participation in the WTO was the initial incident which put China on the map and raised alarm in competing countries. China became the number one go-to place for off-shoring, because of their cheap manual labour and low taxes. I myself found this to be alarming because of what Freidman says about the health-care costs. In addition to low tax and cheap labour, China also has cheap health-care costs! I personally feel that this is a step backwards in the process of “flattening” the earth. Once the safety and health of those partaking in the off-shoring business is compromised, I feel that we should draw the line here. I also thought it was interesting that eventually China would run out of land to re-locate to, and in turn would not be able to lower their prices anymore, in turn, leveling out the competition between businesses. 1250396104

Flattener #7 Supply Chaining
A large force that occured throughout the world were the appearances of supply-chain stores, such as Walmart. Friedman compares the use of supply-chains as a river: it has allowed companies such as Walmart to streamline item sales, distribution, and shipping, with the use of technology. However, with such an amazing achievement, it also came with a price. Some companies have also become ruthless: overworking their employees or grinding down any supplier to nothing. The most amazing thing about this flattener is how it has impacted the market. With the use of supply chains, not only do the companies profit from their own country, but they also profit from other countries as well. Take for example McDonalds. If it had never left the United States, then their profits and popularity would probably be much less of an impact than it was today. We owe all the fattening and delicous foods that McDonalds has to offer, and not only them, but other supply-chain stores as well. 1245990613

Supply Chaining or a “river” is when a company goes through the process of passing the job along after completing each part. With the help of technology Supply Chains provide an efficient and fast process, with less labour. An example of a company that does this is Walmart. As boxes of products arrive on a conveyor belt, an electric eye reads the bar codes as it passes. The “river” then splits and machine arms divide the boxes ordered by particular Walmart stores and enters a truck. The truck then transports them to their destination. At the shop, a consumer will pick up the product where it will be scanned at the cashier. This sends a signal all the way back to the supplier to replace this item so that nothing will be out of stock. Using this fast process, companies profit from their country and other countries as well. This is most interesting because this has enabled countries to operate in different countries as well in the most organized way. 1247491043

Wal-Mart is an example of an exceptional supply chain, which makes another product, with a mechanical arm somewhere in the world, as soon as a customer lifts a product of the local Wal-Mart shelf and onto the check out counter. Its ability to do this is a great flattening force. Wal-Mart has its own distribution centre were all manufactures ship their products. Supply is both enabled by the flattening of the world and a hugely important flattener, because as they grow and proliferate they force the adoption of standards between companies. And supply chain is a way of collaborating horizontally. Global optimization is important, total cost of delivering all your parts on time from all four corners of the world to your factories or retail store has to be low. Zara is another retailer that uses transmission capabilities for all store managers to monitor customer’s preferences and send data to office having that product out in more than 30 days. Wal-Mart was one of the first companies to introduce computer to track and store sales and inventory, and developed a computerized network in order to share information with its suppliers, thus making a more efficient supply chain, also by integrating RFID tags. I think the most interesting part of this flattener is to see how computers and new technology can make a frictionless supply chain, and how it makes our businesses more flat. Today we have all the information we want by our hands and we have agreed upon standards. 1248494521

Supply-chaining has a lot to do with massiveness. Huge stocks, cost-effective, time-efficient, but most important -- useful. I say this because the best global supply chains use sophisticated information systems in distribution and coordination that cater to their own and their consumers' needs. An example is RFID, which eficiently digitize and control organization and quality through tracking or sophisticated monitoring tools. Supply chainnig forces the adoption of common standards between companies, sets examples of success to other companies (domestic or international) which lead to more global collaboration. Some examples of supply chains are Wal-Mart, UPS and Zara. An interesting part I read was the measures some companies undertake to be forever provide low costs. It's funny -- and I don't know how much television plays a part in this -- that business is made out to be this cold, inhuman, procedural thing that must not be mixed with the following: love, humor, feelings, sympathy. I find the human race to be very false this way. 1248853655

Friedman describes the next flattening force - supply chaining - as a river. Supply-chaining refers to a process in which a constant flow of labor works to create goods and supply retailers. Friedman writes that the minute you take a product off a shelf, somewhere in the world another product is being made to refill the supply. He compares this process to a symphony without a finale, going on '24/7/365'. Wal-Mart is one prime example of a business that has mastered the supply-chain process, making it a formidable and even controversial competitor. Because of this highly automated, highly global process, Wal-Mart is able to create, supply, and distribute goods at a very cheap cost. This allows the company to sell goods at a lower price, undercutting other such retailers and putting them out of business. Supply-chaining plays a role as a flattener, as many different components - links - of the chain come from different parts of the world (Here, off-shoring, another flattener, comes into play). In this sense, businesses become a truly global venture. And with so many customers dependent on such international companies such as Wal-Mart, these customers also become dependent on every other country that takes part in this chain. It is because of this that Friedman identifies the supply-chain process as a flattening force. 1249201867

Walmart are one of the largest supply chaining stores in the world, over 2.3 billion cartons are supplied to it stores around world yearly. Supply chaining is a way of efficiently controlling all products while make it cost effective, supply changing makes its easier for the seller to keep track of everything and for the consumer to get anything from other places around the world. With RFID being used in almost everything, its makes the work for stores such a Walmart more easier and much for efficient. I find it interseting how technology has changed things so much, now you can get things made from other side of the world anything you want and how much a bussiness can grow due to technologies affects.1249904629

Supply chaining is defined as collaborating “horizontally among suppliers, retailers, and customers to create value. Friedman uses Walmart as an example for describing how supply chaining works, in a walmart distribution center he describes a ‘river’ of goods and then being separated into streams by mechanic arms that lead to trucks that will carry that certain good to a certain walmart outlet somewhere in the country. The common goal of “supply chaining” is to get the total cost of delivering all the parts on time from all over the globe to your factories or retail outlets at a low price. Zara has another strategy where they deliberately allow shortages and then resupply the outlets where the certain good is needed. By arming store managers with PDA’s that monitor customer preferences and then sends data to the closest central planning office. Walmart not only has an efficient sorting in a distribution center, it also linked their truck drivers by radio and satellites so that after delivering an order to a walmart store they could go and pick up goods from a manufacturer hence cutting delivery charges. As well as that walmart has also adopted RFID tags on their goods allowing fast organization of the good and quick allocation to where the good is demanded. What I found interesting in this section was that new technology is allowing producers to cut costs, and reach higher levels of efficiency, hence allowing us to enjoy cheaper and higher quality goods than ever before. 1249890604~ A supple chain allows large businesses such a WalMart to transport, process and ship all of their products to different shops around the country seamlessly. Linking everybody and everything technologically, using transmitters, sensors and tags (RFID), helps prevent items from being lost or confused with others. This development has rapidly increased a shop's chance to widen their range and expand the number of shops as they don't have to worry as much about the location of their products. Tracking a stores sales is also another useful use of supple chaining in a company, as it lessens errors in calculations made later on. Partically every shop uses this now right? I don't see how it is possible not to. user:annapettersen

The appearance of supply-chain stores revolutionized the consumer world. The process has been compared to that of a river: companies can now streamline their activities and tasks, making smooth transitions between shipping, distribution, and item sales. However, some companies brutally exploit this new process, giving long work hours for employees and wringing out whatever they can from suppliers. Despite that, however, it is unfair to not mention the many other positive impact supply-chain stores have on the world. I for one enjoy the fruits of supply-chain stores, for even in China I can walk to a nearby McDonalds and pick up a meal. 1250121303

Supply chain is often described as a river due to its massiveness. It helps speed up the process of product distribution and manage stock for each node. Global supply chains draw products from all over the world at low prices, and move them to retail nodes where they can be sold off at higher prices. My personal thought is that whoever thought of supply chain is a genius, it allows me not only convenience but also high quality goods. user:ZetaZero

The next section describes the process of supply-chaining. Freidman uses the analogy of a river to describe supply-chaining; there must always be a continuous flow of production, and as soon as a product is bought, a signal will be sent to prompt the supplier to make another one. In this way, there will always be a constant stream of productivity, and the supplier will know which products are more high-on-demand. One of the two big challenges in supply-chaining is knowing how much of one product to buy; if too many of the same item is produced, the item must be discounted as there is less demand for it. The other big challenge is the cost of the total product, and not the cost of the individual parts. Freidman uses the example of Wal-Mart as a supply-chain. I thought was really cool how an entire supply-chain is interconnected and able to communicate, right down to every last product that is sold or shelved! 1250396104

Flattener #8 Insourcing
With large company's, such as Walmart, taking advantage of their ability to outsource and use supply chains, many small companies face bankruptcy. However, companies such as UPS have taken a step foward to help flatten the world by allowing smaller companies to compete with the large ones as well. Instead of just supplying goods for customers, delivery companies have also insourced, where the company's employee's perform services beyond shipping. Instead, those employees and companies can work together with the smaller companies to increase time management and to appease the growing needs of the people. The most interesting thing about insourcing is how often it can be overlooked. While I often recieve the mail from the UPS people, I have never taken into consideration how large of an impact those people are. 1246055865

Insourcing is when a company such as UPS are willing to take a step forward. Not only to satisfy delivery needs, but also assist in synchronizing global supply chains gor other countries big and small. They can help companies with unique needs and treat them all differently, creating methods. For example UPS worked with a fishing company to create a special package to carry tropical fish without crushing them. What was most interesting to me is how innovative people can be over the smallest thing as to delivering a fish! Imagine what people can do when they put their brains together. 1247492400

UPS is another huge flattening force by doing logistics and synchronizing global supply chains for companies. Ups repairs laptops in its own UPS run workshop and they pick, inspect, pack and deliver shoes for Nike. This process is called insourcing – creating value horizontally and a new form of collaboration, by analyzing a companies manufacturing packing and delivery process and then design, redesign, and manage the companies global supply chain. Another example of UPS’s insourcing is when they needed to find a better solution to deliver furniture for P&H they had to look inside the business and then into ots suppliers businesses. Drivers are caring their DIAD allowing customers to track their package, and guide the driver. This was created because of the flattening world, and it’s flattening even more with this kind of insourcing. I think the most interesting part of this flattener is how insourcing as UPS does, gives companies more options to customize products at the last minute. 1248494521

Insourcing is a concept I can relate to defragmentation on a computer. You can take specialized processes or calculations on a PC and send them to be done on another, faster, super-computer for instance, but this is not insourcing. Insourcing takes and organizes and simplifies and cleans up within. Rather than going big, insourcing tends to take things on a straighter customized path. It's very personal. Friedman uses the example of UPS. What appears to the public as a mail delivery system is to the private sector something like a fairy godmother, nearly taking care of all the extraneous things so that the company can focus on the bigger picture. UPS is a flattener because helps companies (from around the world) become more efficient, so that they can compete with the larger firms. UPS is a multinational, so that it collaborates with firms all over the world. The more I read this, the more I see that this "third-party" business will become more and more common. It began with the assembly line, separating tasks, then with machines, and this is just the same, except on a greater scale. This means more standardization, the next step. And I didn't even know there could be a next step. 1248856795

Friedman describes in-sourcing, the eight flattener, as the conducting of logistics in an effort to simplify a process. He uses UPS as an example. No longer merely a simple package-delivery service, Friedman writes that UPS now is also engaged in the business of logistics, thus becoming one of the largest and most effective in-sourcing businesses. Take this as an example: in the past, when a Toshiba laptop was broken, one would have to go to UPS, ship the laptop to the Toshiba repair-hub, and then wait for Toshiba to repair the laptop and then ship it back through UPS. UPS succeeded in cutting out the unnecessary middle steps and thereby creating a smooth, effecient and customer-friendly process. Instead of shipping the laptop to Toshiba, UPS delivers the package to one of its own repair hubs, where the laptop can be fixed within a day and then delivered back to the customer the next. Another example is UPS conducting seminars on effective packaging with their 'packaging-engineers', teaching companies such as Plow and Hearth, a furniture business, effective ways to protect their products from harm during the shipping process, thereby increasing customer satisfaction through reduction of faulty goods. This is in-sourcing. Friedman identifies In-sourcing as a flattening process as it promotes the interconnectivity that is so vital to globalization. Companies now work together to achieve a goal, and to provide for their customers. In this way, your desk or your computer is not the result of a sole companies efforts but rather a connected collaboration between two or more businesses. I found this to be one of the more interesting flatteners to read about, not only because it revealed to me many things I did not know about in-sourcing companies such as UPS, but also because the entire business of coming up with solutions to inefficient processes seemed very innovative and interesting. 1249201867

Insourcing as described by friedman is simply companies stepping in to handle all the shipping and delivering of another company’s supply chain. Synchronizing all the deliveries in between the supply chain. Hence allowing the company to work more efficiently, and gives the company space to allocate its labor into divisions in need. One such company is UPS; they come up with innovative ways to transport goods such as live animals to furniture. Apart from that they also arm each deliveryman with DIAD, which tells them where to go, and exactly where the good they have to deliver is on their truck, immensely cutting delivery time down. I always thought the clipboards that the UPS people carry around were just for signing and digitally delivering the signature back to UPS HQ for verifying the delivery, not also for directions and a catalog of the goods in the truck. 1249890604

Shipping or delivering good from one place to other might seem like an easy thing but when millions of packages are delivered in a day it becomes hard to track them all. Insourcing is a way of organizing and simplifying this work, to make it easier for the customer and supplier. UPS are one of the major insourcers, many companies such as ebay, Toshiba, Ford use UPS to do all the work on their delivery lines. Companies like UPS or Fedex are a major player in world flatteners as they make it easier for things to moved around the world. One thing I found interesting was that a lot of the repairs don’t go the items manufactures but to UPS site to get fixed. 1249907178

Insourcing is used by smaller companies who cannot afford to use large-scale outsourcing such as Wal-Mart or Zara. UPS is a leading company when it comes to insourcing, and is used by smaller companies (and even large companies such as eBay seeing as most products a sent to different people every time) to transport their goods without breaking the bank. And also because UPS is used by so many different types of small companies and even for private use, UPS has become skilled in transporting all types of goods, making the user confident that it will arrive intact. These companies allow people to even send items to each other which would be too big or crushed if sent by regular mail. I've never used UPS or Fedex to sent anything anywhere, but I used to get packages from grandparents and relatives via the mail + UPS and I still remember how the mail items were always crushed and UPS items were fine. user:annapettersen

It is hard to imagine that delivery guys become a force that can flatten the world. Insourcing is a huge flattener that enables customers to remotely purchase and receive their products. Over the years, insourcing became more and more powerful, the type of goods that can be delivered become more wide spread, you can even have someone deliver live specimens like a fish nowadays. This raised the efficiency massively, due to the increase in convenience and the cut down on time spent to receive the product. The waiting time between the purchase and delivery shortens everyday as transport get more and more enhanced. I found insourcing to be one of the most wonderful flatteners as I like to order things I cannot get in China on the internet. After reading through this portion, I finally understand why those Fedex, UPS and DHL ads always talk about the delivery man running through storms and such… I found that extremely amusing. user:ZetaZero With the power and impact of supply-chain stores such as Wal-Mart, smaller companies face overwhelming competition and risk bankruptcy. Only when smaller companies such as UPS steps forward and utilizes a method called insourcing, in which a company provides services beyond what it was created for, were the smaller companies saved. Delivery companies such as UPS work with supply-chain stores to produce the most suitable packaging for the goods and increase efficiency in management, all the while meeting the ever-increasing demands of the people. What’s interesting is the fact that with a simple step such as insourcing, the playing field has once again been leveled, giving smaller companies the opportunity to compete with supply-chain stores. 1250121303

The next step to supply-chaining; Insourcing! In this section Freidman expresses his delight in the discovery of insourcing, the process of synchronization of global supply-chains. He gave UPS as an example, a company that was apparently “not just delivering packages anymore.” UPS has gone so far as to entirely re-design the process of business flow in some small companies, so that they may be able to focus on improving better products and better overall customer service. If these aspects were being overlooked in other flatteners for the purpose of efficiency and budget, they certainly weren’t during the process of insourcing. What I found most interesting was that UPS was doing all the insourcing, on top of their regular agenda, delivering mail. I wold have thought that if companies were to experiment with insourcing, they would be concentrating on the organization of their own business flow, rather than other corporations they are dealing with.

1250396104~

Flattener #9 In-forming
With hundreds of thousands of Web pages being added to the Internet each day during the 1990s, and existing search engines could not handle the pace, something had to be done. Google had a breakthough, with the ability to combine its PageRank technology with an analysis of page content, has allowed it to become first among search engines. With in-forming, all digitized infomration that has been created wtihin PCs were suddenly searchable. Not only has Google achieved a great success, other companies have as well, such as TiVo. TiVo can now know which shows and which adds you are freezing, storing, and rewinding on TV. The most amazing thing about this flattener is how often we use it, without knowing it. I often use Google, and am thankful for the amount of information that it can return. Without it, my life would probably be less as exciting than now. I wouldn't know as much. 1246056375

In-forming is the ability to collaborate and share your own version of information with the rest of the world. The emergence of Google showed people’s interest in learning. Google was the first among all other search engines to have a Page rank technology that determined which pages are the most relevant to specific searches. As search Engines became more efficient and widely used, it became a base people used to in-form themselves. Answers to questions were seconds away from your fingertips. After reading about this flattener, it hit me that my main source of information is only Google. I have never searched through a book or an encyclopedia for years. All my searches from school work to store locations all happen at Google. I <3 Google. 1247911474

The remarkable diversity of searches going via Google makes it a huge informing flattener. It’s an equalizer. Google has infinite amount of info available for anyone and everyone, anytime, anywhere, which means it’s a flattener informing people. It’s about self-collaboration, searching for knowledge. Flattening technologies in entertainment as TiVo makes the world fade away allowing people to become their own TV editor. Google was also a business with their targeted advertising model showing ads that are relevant to search. Although Google and other search engines have many benefits there are the issues of privacy, intellectual property and so on. The most interesting part of this flattener is how individuals can inform themselves in all these new ways and medias. The fact that people can get all the information they want, makes us more aware of things even though it’s happening in another country, thus making our world more flat. 1248574942

Google, Yahoo!, MSN Web Search... the quickest way to surfing the web. In-forming is a phenomenon that approaches the concepts from Web 3.0: A personalized Web browsing. Friedman writes: "[In-forming] is the ability to build and deploy your own personal supply chain of information and entertainment." This empowers inviduals to choose their surroundings more, things they are exposed to happen less by chance, because of these tools to customize and search efficientlly. People can easily help themselves. This means that there is more information all around, for everybody to know about everybody, that helps the formation of global communities across the Web, which surpass cultural boundaries. There are also downsides such as the loss of privacy, but that is what globalization calls for. Personally I hope Google grows even larger than Microsoft. I find it interesting that formal education and training becomes obselete as information becomes free. 1248857612

Friedman describes In-Forming, a sort of play on the word 'informing', as 'the search for knowledge', 'becoming your own self-directed and self-powered researcher, editor, selector of entertainment'. In short, In-Forming is taking advantage of the search engine phenomena in an attempt to aid, or better, one's life. Of course, when one says search engine, one comes to mind: Google. Google CEO Eric Schmidt states that 'there is no discrimination when using Google', with the search giant now available in over 100 languages, it is possible for a person from almost any country to gain access to the information on the Internet. So long as they have access to a computer, and know how to use it, a person is able to learn about their world regardless of nationality. In this way In-Forming acts as another kind of flattener, providing knowledge for everybody about nearly everything. Through this, In-Forming is able to further bridge the physical gap between people in different countries, allowing people to access information that educates and therefore further unites the world. Once again, I found this flattener interesting because it's another of those things we tend to take for granted. Now Googling is almost a reflexive action - if you don't know about something, we're told to just Google it. And yet it's amazing to think about how much the In-Forming phenomenom has helped to educate and inform our globe about itself. 1249277493

“Informing is searching for knowledge”, which was one of the things a typical 21st century human being would want to do. Before people had to turn to libraries which didn’t have the information they were looking for. Now search engines provide that exact same service but better, at anyone who possesses a device that can access the internet. When search engines were in their infancy “people were delighted to stumble across the information they sought”, but now they presume that the information they are looking for exists out there, it’s just a matter of finding it online said Jerry Yang cofounder of Yahoo. Google provided the world with a tremendously powerful flattening force; it is providing people with the power to form global communities over all international borders. What I found most interesting was that someone would be able to look up your past if it involved felony. Like one of the Google users who claimed to have been able to Google an attractive guy they met in a restaurant.1249890604~

With the growing amounts of content on the web, search sites such as Google, Yahoo or AltaVista have become the ultimate tools for searching for information needed to in-form us on a certain subject. In-forming is sharing your own content and knowledge with others via the internet, and without sites such as Google, finding this information would be practically impossible without knowing the URL beforehand. In-forming is one of the most useful aspects of the internet, it allows people to gain knowledge for others who maybe live on the other side of the world. I love how just Google-ing can give you all the information about something without you even having to search for hours through books and libraries. user:annapettersen

With the incredible speed that the Web is growing, with thousands of new webpages being added everyday, it has become increasingly difficult for users to find the content they want through search engines. This, however, is solved by Google’s search engine, which combines page content analysis with PageRank technology to help the user quickly and efficiently find pages and results that are most relevant to his/her searches. Finding an answer for just about anything has once again become incredibly quick and easy. I cannot express how much I appreciate Google, for I find most of my information, lessons, and research using its search engine. 1250121303

In this section, Freidman introduces the system of in-forming, which is the idea that people may share their knowledge with the general public. Google is a perfect example of this! It has become the number one source for most people in the world today, researching, seeking medical advice, news, etc. Google’s”page rank” technology is what really brought it to the next level. Now, not only can you search up any topic on Google, but it will rank it based on how applicable it may be to you. Google, in this way has become more personalized and user friendly without even a face-to-face interaction. Google is completely revolutionary and also my bible ... What freaks me out a little bit is the idea that eventually, an internet user may be able to browse for anything at all in the world at anytime, which is already beginning to happen right now. Who knows were we will draw the line and ask the question: “How much is knowing TOO much?” Scary thought. 1250396104

In this flattener Friedman talk about uploading, one of the biggest innovations for the internet. Uploading allows people to put their stuff online, like music, videos, pictures etc. Uploading makes it easier for people contribute their ideas on the internet, this caused people to create large online community, such as facebook, youtube, etc. I believe uploading is a one of the biggest achievments of web 2.0 as it made the internet usable for everyone. 1250441359

Flattener #10 The Steroids
The world did not stop there. WIth outsourcing, offshorting, uploading, supply-chaining, insorcuing, and in-forming, society has taken all the forms of collaboration to make each and every one of them in a way that is "digital, mobile, virtual, and personal." The "steroids" that Friedman talks about helps applify and terbocharge the other flatteners. He talks about many different kinds of steriods, starting with computing (computational capability, storage capability, and input/output capability), breakthroughs in instant messaging and file sharing, breakthroughs in making phone calls over the internet, videoconferencing, recent advances in computer graphics, and the groups of new wireless technologies and devices. With all these steroids, it's amazing how much we have to learn; yet, children these days are using these types of technology as if it were an innate ability. It seems to me that the world is evolving: not just the technology, but the people as well. 1246058151

Steroids is the given term Friedman gives about new technology that ‘amplify’ and ‘turbo charge’ other flatteners. A major steroid is computing. Computational, storage and input/output capability increases the amount of information that can be created and drawn. Digitizing allows more information to be transmitted in a smaller form, increasing efficiency and promoting data such as music and other forms of entertainment. One might ask how so much of this can be stored on one computer. Now, chipmakers continuously try to improve the performance and capability of chips that can maintain these steroids. The speed of the chip improves the performance of inputting and outputting data allowing unlimited access to anything. Another main steroid is communication in terms of instant messaging and file sharing. Peer to peer models emerge to encourage the sharing of information amongst people that grow towards the crowd’s needs. Another is the breakthrough making phone calls with the internet. If calls are made computer to computer, it is almost free. Thus flattening the world since communication is made so convenient. Also video conferencing and computer graphics create a certain ‘reality’ in the virtual world. What I found most interesting is that the flattening of the world is never going to stop. People are evolving to adapt to these technologies that each generation will experience the world so much differently than the one before. Sometimes, this might cause us to take technology for granted if one has not experience a world without it.1247915291

The six steroids are all flatteners. They consists of new technologies, which amplifies and turbocharges all the other flatteners, making it possible to do each one of them in a way that is digital, mobile, virtual and personal. The first steroid is computing, allowing us to digitize data more than ever before. As storage and chip continues to advance and become more and more miniaturized you will be able to buy enough storage to carry those movies in your pocket. The second steroid is instant messaging and file sharing. The third steroid involves the breakthrough of making phone calls over the Internet by VoIP and Skype. The fourth steroid is videoconferencing making it easier for people to really communicate their thoughts, facial expressions etc. The fifth steroid are advances in computer graphics and thus computer games. This brings highly visual, interactive interfaces to all sorts of applications in health care sector, education, science and business. The sixth group of steroids is the wireless technology and its devices making collaboration mobile allowing people to push and pull information from anywhere to anywhere. I think the most interesting part of this flattener is how all the steroids individually and in combination influences many people in many ways and areas, such as entertainment and education. Also the sixth steroid is an interesting flattener, which diminishes barriers between people and makes communication easier, thus joining the world together – making it more flat. 1248574942

Steroids -- the last flattener amplifies and turbocharges all the other flatteners. These devices and software help make humans even more empowered. The first steroid, computing, digitizes data -- and the general view is the more information the better. The second stereoid is instant messsaging and file sharing, which help connect people easier wherever they go. The third steroid is in making phone calls over the Internet: This makes the virtual experience even more life-like and real. It saves costs, and make people collaborate easily, cheaply. The fourth steroid is videoconferencing, which takes the third steroid one step further by giving communication dynamics. The fifth steroid is advances in computer graphics, which give highly visual and interactive interfaces to applications. The sixth steroid is the new wireless technologies and devices. Friedman describes his experiences with Japan's amazing wirelessness and its connections with all these steroids. What I found interesting was the redundancy in this last steroid. It certainly tied things together, but it felt like old news. I wondered if Friedman only wrote this tenth flattener as a round-up. Also, I can think of some other places with amazing, free internet access -- Singapore and Hong Kong. 1248861281

Friedman describes the steroids as a flattener which boosts the effects of all the other flatteners, causing globalization to become even more apparent. The steroids are computing, which allows us to digitize data, instant messaging and file sharing, allowing people to connect and share their work, the third steroid is VoIP, allowing people to communicate more realistically over the Internet. The fourth steroid is videoconferencing, which brings people together in a more effective manner by giving more 'face-to-face' contact. The fifth steroid is the advance in computer graphics, creating more compelling and engaging media. The sixth and final steroid is wireless technology, allowing people to gather as well as deliver information from almost anywhere in the globe. Friedman cites his experiences in Japan, talking about the availability of wireless networks allowing people to access the Internet from anywhere - even on a train moving 150 miles per mile. Having never lived in a place where there is constant wireless access available, I think it's very interesting to consider how life would be made so much simpler if we could log onto say, Google Maps on our phones to get directions.1249277493

The steroid flattening force is the one that “turbo charges” all the other steroids making them more effective in flattening the world. The first steroid is computing, which allows us to collect and analysis data at ever increasing speeds. The second steroid is the breakthrough in instant messaging and file sharing, allowing computer users to share songs, video and other kinds of digital files with one another. The 3rd steroid includes being able to make phone calls over the internet, this allows easier collaboration with one another and collaborating data all around the world. The 4th steroid is video conferencing, allowing businessmen to hold meetings with one another quicker and cheaper. The 5th steroid is improvement of computer graphic capabilities, which enhances video collaboration. The last and most important steroid as claimed by Friedman is the development of wireless capabilities and devices all around the world. What I found interesting was that people are now making camera phones that make a sound despite being on silent, so that people around the person taking the picture will be aware that, he/she is taking one.1249890604~

The flattening force of 'steroids' is essentially building upon other flattening forces and increasing their speed. As the use of the internet increases, the effect of steroids such as instant messages, file sharing, and so on increases. The facts that these application have become so standard to the internet users of today show just how fast steroids can increase the impact of a flattener. F.ex., a child's parents will have no knowledge about IMs and video-chats while their child will be using those new methods of communicating on a day-to-day basis. The 1st steroid is computing, 2nd IMs and file sharing programmes, 3rd is phone calls via internet (Skype), 4th is video conferencing, 5th is advanced computer graphics and the 6th is wireless technology. Personally, I think the 6th steroid has the greatest flattening effect. user:annapettersen

Society did not stop with all of these new innovations and flatteners. The “steroids” described in the book are developments that “turbo-charge” and “amplify” the effects of the other flatteners. Breakthrough developments such as instant messaging, file-sharing, videoconferencing, and much more serve to make the previous flatteners all the more accessible and efficient. I feel that the world is not only developing new technology with each passing second, but also evolving, adapting to the needs and desires of society and further improving existing innovations. 1250121303

In the last section, “The Steroids,” Freidman attempts to broaden the readers view on the impact of these flatteners, and what the catalysts are. The six steroids that Freidman introduces are computing, instant messaging & file sharing, phone calls over the internet (using Skype), videoconferencing, computer graphics, and finally wireless devices and technology. It amazes me that these six steroids are all used over multiple platforms and can be shared so easily between users! These steroids 'turbocharge' the process of globalization and allow for the world to just sit back and relax while technology works its way to fit to our advantage. Anything is possible!! (: 1250396104