Tuesday, June 4, 2013
TWIF Chapter 1 Reflection
After you have read and taken notes on Chapter 1, "While I Was Sleeping," use one of the current events sources linked at http://svhs-hwc-fall2013.blogspot.com/2013/06/approved-sources-for-twif-current.html to find a recent news article that relates to, supports, or refutes Friedman's assertions. Your comment should include the title of the news article, a link to the article, and a summary of the article including an explanation of how the article relates to an issue addressed in chapter 1 of TWIF. Don't forget to check your rubric for evaluation criteria!
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Edward Snowden: US anger at Russia and China
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23031801
In this article from BBC News, the topic of Edward Snowden's flee from the United States was addressed along with his alleged hiding places and escape plans. Mr. Snowden is on the run from the United States for revealing the details of a secret government operation. Snowden flew to Hong Kong on May 20th, and then to Moscow on June 5th, where he is currently located. The United States was angered by the Chinese government for refusing to release Mr. Snowden to the United States because of apparently incorrect arrest warrants. The U.S. government is also upset that Russia has not tried to detain Edward Snowden, or tried to stop him from leaving the country. Snowden has asked Ecuador for political asylum, since the creator of WikiLeaks was also granted it from Ecuador. Snowden has been tracked since his announcement about the betrayal of the government. This article proves that the world is connected so deeply that finding one man no longer becomes an arduous task. Just as Friedman states in The World is Flat, the use of technology to communicate with the rest of the world does not pose a problem anymore, as opposed to twenty or thirty years ago. Additionally, government leaders no longer possess the need for face to face conversations about international affairs when they can release a statement to the press for the directed party to view. Accordingly, Snowden's actions can be tracked internationally, such as his flight reservation. This also supports the assertions of the book because this new era, Globalization 3.0, does not need international government workers following a Snowden's movements when his internet presence can be followed. In other words, one can accomplish more than going to another country by finding out when Snowden booked his next flight, where he is flying to, and where he was booking it from. Utilizing the internet as a source of power and investigation appear as vital tools to modern society. Therefore, a "flatter" world exemplifies the consequences of its avant-garde presence through the article because technology and communication have increased, putting countries on an equal level of communication capabilities and increasing internet presence awareness.
Via Instagram, Insight Into Turkey's Protests http://www.npr.org/blogs/pictureshow/2013/06/07/189564533/via-instagram-insight-into-turkeys-protests
ReplyDeletePadmananda Rama, from NPR News, wrote this article on June 13th, 2013, describing how a popular social media device and the protests in Turkey are related. Many photos of the protests, which have been posted on Instagram, are included in the article, depicting the demonstrations and violence that started with a small protest against the commercial development of Gezi Park in Istanbul. Thousands of people then began to protest against the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in many cities in Turkey. Instagram users like Serkan Bac and Engin Iriz regularly use Instagram to post pictures of the clashes in Istanbul during this troubling time when, previously, they had just posted ordinary pictures of their lives. Prime Minister Erdogan claims that social media sites, such as Twitter, are exaggerating the events in Turkey when photographers take daily pictures of the forces used by the police, such as tear gas.
The role of social media in the events occurring in Turkey truly represents the flat world described in the first chapter of Thomas Friedman's The World Is Flat. At the end of the article, Rama writes, "For those of us not in Taksim, Instagram may make us feel a little closer to what's happening there – what it might look like if we were walking outside or watching from our own windows." This supports Friedman's argument. He argues that the flat world creates this effect because almost everyone can access any information from anywhere, including their homes and workplaces. Also, Rama's statement is similar to Friedman's observation when he was writing about the UBS commercial: "I loved that concept of a company with only two offices- 'everywhere, and right next to you'- because it captured perfectly the way the flattening of the world allows companies to be more global than ever and, yet, at the same time, more personal than ever." (Friedman 45) Both can be interpreted to say that anyone can receive information about and from anywhere, and this creates a sense that one is experiencing everything close-up and firsthand. Furthermore, the ability of protesters to spread news of their demonstrations can help them gain support, which puts them on equal footing with Turkish authorities. This is because governments generally have more ways to communicate with, and therefore more power to influence, the people of their countries. Now, with the Internet and new technology, "'The playing field is being leveled.'" (Friedman 7) All in all, the use of social media by demonstrators to distribute information, and by outsiders to see it, is a contemporary example of the globalization of individuals described in The World Is Flat.
North Korean ship with 'military cargo' held by Panama
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23324170
In this BBC news article, the commandeering of the North Korean ship that was carrying sophisticated military weaponry from Cuba was analyzed and discussed. The North Korean ship had previously docked in Cuba to receive cargo from the Cubans. In order for the ship to return to North Korea, the ship needed to go through the Panama Canal. The ship was stopped in port city of Manzanillo for a drug inspection. While checking for drugs, authorities found military weaponry in containers usually meant for carrying brown sugar. During the search, the captain of the ship attempted to commit suicide. The thirty five member crew is now in custody. The article then goes on to discuss that North Korea is banned from trading weapons by the many sanctions the UN has placed on it. This capture also supports some expert analysis that North Korea is working on attaching a small nuclear warhead to a long range missile. The article also contains a picture released by the Panamanian President that shows the suspected weapons. Overall, this article definitely supports Friedman's arguments. The ability for the Panamanians to dock this ship is the first supporting statement. With today’s technology, the authorities knew the ship was coming from Cuba and need to be inspected. This supports Friedman’s argument that little to no evil activities can be accomplished with the current technology used by authorities and governments. Next, the fact that the President of Panama released photographs of the weapons supports Friedman’s claims. This supports his claim that information goes global in Globalization 3.0.. The fact that an average person equipped with only a computer can view weapons seized within the last day is remarkable and is a perfect example of Friedman's claim. Lastly, Friedman mentions how trade agreements flattens the world. The United Nations, a global organization decided together that North Korea can not trade weapons. This trade agreement lead to Panama having the right to seize the weapons. All in all, this incident supports Friedman’s claims that technology stops malicious activity, social media helps public knowledge, and trade agreements stop illegal trading.
Pope Francis Blesses Brazil with First Foreign Trip:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theworld.org/2013/07/pope-francis-blesses-brazil-with-first-foreign-trip/
In this July 22nd podcast, found on PRI’s the World, an interviewee speaks about the arrival of Pope Francis in Brazil. His landing in Brazil represents his first international trip as Pontiff, but the reasons for his coming seem even more noteworthy. Pope francis, known for rectifying social injustice, wishes to address the social crimes occurring in Brazil. These crimes include police brutality and government corruption. In the past weeks these protests gained more publicity and so it only seemed logical for the Pope to dedicate his first foreign trip to Brazil, the largest catholic country in the world. Enthusiastic, Brazilian citizens, including children and elderly, rich and poor, now celebrate his arrival in Rio. I believe this event perfectly illustrates Friedman’s argument posed in The World is Flat. It connects to the idea of flattening the world because one individual person can travel to another country with ease. Without advances in worldwide technology and continental travel agreements the earth would seem a much “rounder” instead of “flatter” place. Also for the ability of the publicity about these brazilian riots and protests to reach other individuals in separate countries proves Friedman’s point about the efficiency in media technology. Citizens can now make a cry for help on the internet and the whole world could possibly hear them. The world constantly adjusts and improves itself because of the new individual driving force mentioned in Globalization 3.0. People with access to computers and therefor access to the world make up this new driving forces and the force persists on taking the world by storm.
http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-isle-of-man-23317467
ReplyDeleteSmall nations in Isle of Man to share economic advice
This article from BBC discusses the new programs and economic strategies that small countries are learning to utilize in order to integrate themselves into the global economy. Representatives from places similar to the Maldives, Belize, and Swaziland attend a two-week long course in the Isle of Man, in which they listen to lectures concerning the development of small economies. In effort to cover multiple areas of management, academics from Oxford, Harvard and other leading universities are lecturing at the seminars, along with representatives of the World Bank and IMF. This relates to the first chapter of The World is Flat because it demonstrates the capabilities of individuals and groups within Globalization 3.0. For example, these conventions unite people from a variety of countries and attempt to improve the economic circumstances of the people within them. This illustrates Friedman's idea that size and location are irrelevant in today's society. New technologies allow for people from different communities to collaborate and small countries are slowly accommodating to the world's commerce. To summarize, it is possible for global collaboration and competition to transpire between places such as America and world's smallest countries due to globalization's flattening capabilities.
How low-paid workers at 'click farms' create appearance of online popularity
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/aug/02/click-farms-appearance-online-popularity
In this article from the Guardian, a reporter researches a company located in Dhaka, Bangladesh, that allows a person/company to buy Facebook likes, Youtube views, Twitter followers, anything one can think of. In fact, many companies are popping up like this, called "click farms." They acquired this name by hiring workers to create fake social media profiles and raise likes or views on media content on the internet. With the rise of sites like Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites, popularity on these websites is slowly becoming more influential on the daily life of an average person. This relates to The World is Flat because it exemplifies the views expressed in Chapter 1 about Globalization 3.0. This article shows the public's reliability on the Internet and the influence an individual has when on the world-wide web. In fact, a study shows that 31% of consumers will check a company's/product's web popularity before making a purchase. These workers can add up to 1,000 likes/views/followers on one individual page in a short amount of time. While increasing a company's/product's page popularity, an individual can also increase a company's/product's ranking in search engine results. In essence, this article thoroughly fortifies Friedman's theory of Globalization 3.0, in the sense that the world-wide web and the PC have given immense amounts of power to individuals all over the world.
Starbucks, Google and the Future of Work
ReplyDeletehttp://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/innovations/wp/2013/08/01/starbucks-google-and-the-future-of-work/
This article from The Washington Post written by Dominic Basulto refutes Friedman's theory by explaining how two large companies have joined together to overpower their competition.
Starbucks, the popular franchise that originated in Seattle, Washington, has created a partnership with Google that will supply Wi-Fi to all of their customers that is ten times faster than the Wi-Fi that has been supplied by AT&T. With this partnership, both corporations will prosper; Starbucks will gain more customers who want to use the provided Wi-Fi and Google will be advertising its high-speed internet connection. This event is much like when video conferences would be held in Infosys’s global conferencing center. At this conferencing center the designers, the software writers, and the manufacturers from different parts of the world were able to share their ideas with one another all at once. These people would join together and create new ideas and plans for the latest software inventions. This way, different enterprises are able to create a product together and distribute it effortlessly while they all receive recognition. Like the designers, software writers, and manufacturers, Google and Starbucks are coming together so that they will both benefit from their cooperation. This article refutes Friedman's idea that everyone is one the same playing field. Google and Starbucks have taken this chance to come together and conquer the rest of the competitors.
'Depart Immediately,' State Dept. Tells Americans in Yemen
ReplyDeletehttp://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/08/06/209428742/depart-immediately-state-dept-tells-americans-in-yemen
In this article from NPR, the state department is worried about multiple new threats being put on American citizens currently in Yemen. The threats are most likely coming from the terrorist group, Al-Qaeda. With the recent closings of American diplomatic posts worldwide, some officials believe that the planned attacks may happen in those very same areas. Worries about the well-being of any U.S. citizens located in Yemen currently have caused the state department to take extra security measures and tell all Americans to immediately evacuate the country. This article relates to Friedman's argument that new technology has allowed people to easily get into contact with one another from different areas of the world. This technology has allowed the U.S. to gain immediate, direct, and secure contact with Americans in Yemen, warn them about the threats, and demand them to leave. This article also supports Friedman's belief that this new, flat world opens opportunities to those with positive as well as negative intentions. In this case, the terrorist threats pose as an example of how harmful people are taking advantage of this "leveled playing field." With everyone receiving an equal opportunity, a person with detrimental intentions has as many contingencies as someone with admirable ones.
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-11-29/world/35585439_1_syrian-people-hama-opposition-coalition
ReplyDeleteSyria’s Internet shutdown leaves information void, may signal escalating war
This article's main topic of this article how shutting down the internet in Syria will affect the war, and what it means for the future of the war. The article discusses how the internet has been shut down before on two separate occasions, both times it was just before an attack was made. SInce the internet was shut down it makes it very difficult for the rest of the world to watch the war unfold, and for them to observe what is happening. This article also discusses how the rebel forces believe that the internet being shut down is a good thing. Activists believe that the reason the internet was shut down was specifically targeted towards them. Activists believe the government shut down the internet to lessen the amount information that is fed to them from the outside world, therefore weakening them. However, the government claims that the internet was shut down due to "technical difficulties." This article certainly fortifies argument that internet strongly affects the world and greatly assisted with it flattening because it shows that Syrian officials realized that the activists were becoming stronger by way of the internet, therefore flattening the playing field with Syria and the rest of the world.
44 shot in mosque, 12 other civilians killed: Boko Haram claims credit
ReplyDeletehttp://www.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2013/0812/44-shot-in-mosque-12-other-civilians-killed-Boko-Haram-claims-credit
This article, written by Haruna Umar and Michelle Fraul, describes an attack made by the terrorist group, Boko Haram, on forty-four innocent Nigerians praying at a mosque and twelve others. The leader of the group, Abubakar Shekau, sent a video to journalists bragging about many of the group’s attacks and stated that Boko Haram has become so powerful, that he feels that the group is prepared to attack the United States. In the video Shekau also threatened, “We have killed countless soldiers and we are going to kill more.” Boko Haram used cell phone communication to coordinate the attack, so the military has required both cellphone and Internet service to be shut down in Borno.
The use of video communication by the terrorist group strongly supports the idea of Globalization 3.0 as stated in The World is Flat by Thomas L. Freidman. Globalization 3.0 is the use of technology by individuals to communicate worldwide. The use of cellphones throughout the attack also supports Globalization 3.0 because the different members of the group were communicating from different parts of Nigeria or possibly even different countries. In the book, Freidman displayed this type of technology as having a positive impact on the world. This Christian Science Monitor article proves that it can have a negative impact as well, when being used to harm others.
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ReplyDeleteAdoption online: Two dads and a mum share a child via social media
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23641446
This article from BBC begins by explaining how many people in recent years turned to online dating as a new way to connect with people. It continues to explain that along with this, online adoption now acts as another way in which individuals can connect via internet. This article mainly discusses how a loving, gay couple, Brad Letson and Brad Benton, felt frustrated with the arduous task of searching for a proper child to adopt from a responsible mother. They decided to try handling this situation by posting an advertisement on Facebook, a social media network which allows individuals to post whatever they want to help better connect the community. Just a few hours after posting the advertisement, they received a response from Sesa Julianna, who turned out to be the perfect mother to adopt from. Now, several years later, Letson and Benton both father Kyler, a two year-old boy who gets to spend time with his two dads as well as his mother, whom he interacts with through skype calls. This reinforces Friedman’s arguments because it shows yet another new concept that can now be accomplished through technology by an individual: adoption. In Friedman’s arguments, he explains that through Globalization 3.0, more and more individuals are obtaining the power to interact globally. This “flattens” the world, because people who would have never met before, such as Brad, Brad, Sesa, and her son Kyler, were able to meet and begin collaborating in only six hours. Additionally, after the adoption, Kyler has been able to stay in touch with his mother by the use of another social network, Skype, an additional way in which our modern world flattens. Brad and Brad were not a country or a company. They were two young men who wanted to accomplish a tiresome task by using the power given to them by Globalization 3.0, perfectly illustrating Friedman’s arguments for how people in our vast world can now connect easily.
US: Alleged leaker Manning is a ‘traitor’
ReplyDeletehttp://www.euronews.com/2013/07/26/us-alleged-leaker-manning-is-a-traitor/
This article and small video from Euronews explains how alleged at the time Bradley Manning, a United States intelligence analyst, leaked as many as 700,000 private United States documents onto a Wikileaks anti-secrecy website. These articles that Manning leaked included top-secret military documents about Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The information that these articles included was discovered almost instantly and the news began to spread just as quickly. This leak of information supports Friedman’s views on how the world is changing with globalization 3.0. Friedman argues that under the “flat-world platform”, which is part of globalization 3.0, the world can connect almost instantaneously and at little to know price. Friedman believes that the world has changed so much, people can share, upload, download, and view information immediately. Manning was able to leak 700,000 documents and anyone with access to Wikileaks could have viewed those documents at lightning speed. By being able to share those documents very quickly the knowledge of what the documents entailed was spread even quicker just as Friedman argues. Overall, Bradley Manning is a quintessential example of how the world is becoming flat. Manning has showed us that no longer do people need to talk to other people to get information across to millions of people, instead someone can just post information online and the information can be accessed at amazing speeds.
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSerengeti Safari from the Safety of Your Desk
ReplyDeletehttp://www.npr.org/blogs/pictureshow/2013/08/16/211400382/a-serengeti-safari-from-the-safety-of-your-desk
Photographer Michael Nichols and videographer Nathan Williamson gathered more than 200 hours of video and 200,000 photos of lions in the wild over a period of more than two years. They filmed and took photos in the Serengeti, a diverse ecosystem located in north Tanzania. Nichols and his crew used robots that were remote operated to photograph and film lions. The two robots that they used were the Mikrokopter, a small helicopter, and the Robot Tank, a bulky piece of machinery. In “The World is Flat,” by Thomas L. Friedman, he mentions the ability of people to collaborate and connect easily in a Globalization 3.0 era. Friedman says that in the Globalization 3.0 era, our current era, that people can connect like never before, and not have to move from their desks to complete a task. This article caught my attention because it is talking about going on a “virtual safari” at the safety of your desk. Someone in the United States or someone in Australia could watch videos and photos from their office quite a distance away from where they were actually taken. In fact, theses photos and videos can be seen all over the internet if one searched hard enough. Regardless, as Friedman states in his book, “...Globalization 3.0...is the newfound power for individuals to collaborate and compete globally.” What this photographer and videographer did for the world, was allow anyone in the world to experience some of Africa without going to Africa. That alone effectively defines Friedman’s ideas about a “flat-world platform” where, due to technology, anything and everything in the world is viewable and accessible from anywhere. Technology has increased over the past few decades, allowing for advances in robotics such as the robots used to film in the Serengeti. Furthermore, the robots were remote operated wirelessly from the safety of a vehicle or building. Friedman talks about wireless technology and its important role in creating a flatter world by giving people the ability to conduct activities without actually being in a specified location. The robots are a great example of this because Nichols and his crew only needed to be able to connect wirelessly with their robots to film the lions in the wild. Before wireless technology, people would need to be in a location and film with a camera directly which is dangerous to the photographer. Before wireless robots, there was Globalization 2.0, but with the addition of technology today, people can do things like never before. All in all, these two people along with their crew, Nichols and Williamson, showed that the world is flat by giving anyone in the world the ability to “go” to Africa from their office computers. They are a small example of a reason that the world is getting flatter and can directly relate to Friedman’s book about Globalization 3.0 which is an era in which technology connects the world like never before.
Snowden given asylum, while Obama wears the ‘kick me’ sign
ReplyDeletehttp://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2013/08/01/snowden-given-asylum-while-obama-wears-the-kick-me-sign/
This article talks about how Edward Snowden, who released very secret information from the United States, was given asylum in Russia. Snowden worked at the NSA and released information that the government was keeping record of phone calls in the U.S. He fled the county and is now in asylum in Russia to think about what he can do. This article talks about how Russia has no laws against government spying and there is no freedom of the press. This article supports Friedman's idea of globalization 3.0 because Snowden did not have to tell anybody where he was going but the government was able to track him because of his posts on the internet.
Parvum Opus: Followers Flock To Pope's Latin Twitter Feed
ReplyDeletehttp://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2013/06/19/188750518/parvum-opus-followers-flock-to-popes-latin-twitter-feed
This article, written by Sylvia Poggioli on June 19, 2013, explains how twitter is keeping Roman Catholics and/or Latin scholars involved with Pope Benedict XVI. The pope launched his Twitter account in December of 2012. The pope has over 100,000 followers on Twitter and his account is still growing profusely. The pope says, explaining his reaction to the high number of followers on his Twitter account, “Kids 8 years old, up to people who are 88 are also following the conversations and participating in the conversation.” Throughout the article, Sylvia talks about how ‘tweets,’ not only letters, and received from all around the world. This reinforces Friedman’s argument as he states in The World is Flat, the world gets “flatter” as technology advances. The people around the world can still be influenced by the pope’s words through Twitter. The world ‘was’ round before technology had the capability to reach around the world, but it is now ‘flat’ and becoming ‘flatter’ as individuals keep connecting with each other through the internet world. An example would be the pope’s Twitter. He can connect with his followers who then connect with each other. Friedman states that the world is still ‘flattening’ today, which is an accurate statement because technology will keep growing and developing around the world.
Time to be a better neighbor, India. If you don't, China will.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2010/1109/Time-to-be-a-better-neighbor-India.-If-you-don-t-China-will/%28page%29/2
In the first chapter of TWIF, Friedman talks about globalization and the ongoing fight for power and global recognition between countries. This fight is getting more and more competitive by the minute, and each country is trying to be better and bigger and more important than the next. This article relates to this by showing the fight between India and China. China is reaching out to smaller countries with assets and placing claim there, and the article describes that India is falling behind in the race. India has the means to win and the principles needed, yet it is overconfident, overbearing, and suspicious. India expects countries to choose them over China, even if they are given no reason to. They also meddle in other countries business and shut out regions when they are insecure. India uses its powers of outsourcing jobs while China remains the place to go for cheap labor for manufacturing. The world must wait to see who wins this brutal and decisive race.
Combining The Nation's Digitized Libraries, All In One Place
ReplyDeletehttp://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/08/19/213498478/combining-the-nations-digitized-libraries-all-in-one-place
In this article published in NPR, on August 19th 2013, America's libraries are coming together to publish an online site of historical artifacts. Many of our countries minor, small- town libraries, have fascinating accounts of documents dating hundreds of years back. Now, in the Spring of 2013, a new and improved way to find these documents, faster and easier, has come to the world wide web. It is known as the DPLA, the Digital Public Library of America. With this new site, researchers are able discover these historical documents, without having to search the web for days, weeks, months, and/or even years. Libraries are submitting these documents at a rate of about 500,000 artifacts per month. This article relates to Friedmans idea of globalization 3.0 in which new technology is connecting the world, and "flattening" or "evening" the world wide playing field. However, in the case of the DPLA, we are flattening the national playing field and making it easier for more people to get ahead in their historical research.
Call Centers Call on Multilingual Portuguese
ReplyDeletehttp://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2013/07/08/199032441/Call-Centers-Call-On-Multilingual-Portuguese
In this article, posted on July 8, 2013,Lauren Frayer begins by telling the readers about a young woman who speaks five languages looking for a job in Portugal. Before she decides to leave her home country she tries for a last resort job at a newer local call center. Portugal, also called 'India of Europe', has recently became a high hitting place for call centers, and cheap labor because of their euro crisis in addition to the multilingual population. Unemployment rates are high and call centers may have low income but are going to help slowly bring up the economy, paraphrasing what Pedro Lains, an economics professor at the University of Lisbon had said. This relates to chapter one of TWIF, where he speaks of outsourcing. In India, the call center workers, are selling credit cards, flights, finding lost bags, and helping with computer problems. When doing their jobs, the worker adopt fake accents, name, and make the other end of the phone caller seem as if they are in their home area. Although this article does not say what they are doing in the call center, but I can safely assume that because big companies are moving their work over to Portugal, that the work would be close to the same thing, as would explain why Portugal is being called 'India of Europe'.
Egypt’s revolution inspires tech start-ups
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22989236
According to an article from BBC News, Egyptians are taking advantage of the flat world to create an array of new, incredibly useful tech start-ups. The Egyptian revolution, which started in 2011, not only toppled the previous regime, but also taught Egyptian activists and youth that to make a difference, one needs a large group of people and a means of collaborating, organizing, and communicating. According to Jonathan Kalan, the author of the article, “Egypt’s swelling mass of young, educated, and enlightened graduates are now working on changing the future of a nation byte by byte, not just brick by brick.” When the Egyptian government cut off all internet and communication networks to prevent the rebels from broadcasting their message, Mohammad Omara, a resident of Cairo, improvised with Bluetooth technology. He built upon the basics of Bluetooth to create his company, XoneBee, and extended the ten to twenty meter range of most Bluetooth devices to cover the 75,000 square meters of Tahrir square in Cairo, the heart of these protests. Stories such as this have inspired many other Egyptians to invent, catalyzing a nationwide movement to make a name for Cairo as a technology hub. Another example of innovation relates to Omar Gabr and Moataz Soliman, two University of Cairo graduates. Their app, Instabug, allows users to screenshot problems with any app and send it to the developers. Furthermore, this app can be installed to many existing applications with only one line of code, making it very easy to implement. Nafham, another Egyptian start-up, is an online learning platform that encourages students to post videos of school lessons or concepts, with monthly prizes available to encourage involvement. These three companies, although radically different in their purposes, exemplify the power of technology and the benefits of a flat world. As explained by Chapter 1 of The World is Flat, breakthroughs in computers and wireless networks have enabled individuals to gain “equal footing” alongside big name companies and governments. Wireless connectivity and Bluetooth has allowed individuals in Cairo, often without access to desktop computers or laptops, to voice their opinion via a mobile device. Not only this, but the implementation of this technology has allowed ordinary citizens to band together to take down an entire government. This, more than anything, epitomizes Friedman’s arguments regarding the flat world: anyone has an equal chance to make their mark on the world, even against a government. Furthermore, this story reflects the fact that individuals can make their own news, as discussed in Chapter 1 as well. InDCJournal, the online news platform that Friedman talks about, bears a striking resemblance to many online news sites created by Egyptians. Although on different sides of the globe, both were created to eliminate the big company (or government) news bias foisted upon us. These Egyptian revolutionaries were empowered to create their own news because of the autocratic rule of the previous Egyptian regime, and they successfully overthrew the government because of this technology. In total, this article supports and reflects the arguments presented by Friedman because it illustrates the concepts discussed in Chapter 1.
Facebook's Internet.org aims to get billions online
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23779172
In this article from BBC, it explains how Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, is attempting to expand his social network to another 5 billion people. The article says that only about one third of the worlds population has access to the Internet(2.7 billion people). Zuckerberg's goal was to make internet access available to those who cannot afford it, which would help some developing countries become more relevant in the world, essentially, making the world flatter. They will attempt to do this by making their websites more "data efficient" in order for less wealthy countries to be able to use the internet. This article relates to Friedman's statements about globalization 3.0 and how the world is becoming flatter. He talks about how the expansion of technology has "leveled the playing field" and this is another example that. If the less wealthy countries can have access to the internet it gives them a chance to succeed in business that they were never offered before.
Who’s Driving Twitter’s Popularity? Not Teens
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/26/technology/internet/26twitter.html
This article talks about the popularity of Twitter, but refutes the common idea that teenagers make up most of Twitter's users. It also discusses the use of other social media such as Youtube, LinkedIn, and Blogger. These social media websites are used to adults and teens alike to connect with each other. Teens as well as adults from all age groups are joining social networking websites. The article goes on to say that many teens dislike the aspect of broadcasting their lives to anyone who wants to listen, and that using Twitter is more of an adult website. This article relates to Friedman's idea of a flat world because everyone is now able to connect with each other, regardless of age, location, or any other differences. When Friedman says that the world is flat, he means that people can easily communicate with each other . Anyone can communicate and share information and ideas with anyone else. This article displays what Friedman meant by the world being flat, because, through the use of social media website, anyone can connect with anyone else; teens, adults, and older adults alike.
Banking in Africa: Continent of Dreams
ReplyDeletehttp://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21572768-across-africa-banks-are-expanding-their-returns-arent-continent-dreams
The main allure of Africa’s banking market is that it is potentially vast and virtually untapped. Banking penetration among the continent’s 1 billion inhabitants varies significantly from diffrent countries and regions. In some regions the African banks are starting to get more advanced then other banks in diffrent countries. This relates to Friedman’s revelation that the world is flat, because of the advances in technology. Such as the confrencing system that allowed people around the world to work together. Which is shown in this article, because the African banks are already starting become better then other countries banks. While the World is Flat other parts of the world stubling creative ideas that are giving them the leg up over other countries. Such as United States over India, because it was that India in ten years will be doing what United States were doing that time. Because the United States ussaly were always on the edge of the creative breakthrough.