Module 1 (WSU Fall 2014)

The only constant in the world is change.  As technology changes, so do our own paradigms and values as a society.  New sociological cultures are being created everyday by new ideas and inventions.  Globalization affects all facets of industry, as well as society.  

The three areas of globalization discussed in Friedman’s book were 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0.  The main differences that affected the progressions between the three types were due to the knowledge and resources available during those time periods.  Globalization 1.0 was about countries and muscle.  This meant that as technology moved forward, different types of resources created energy and power. It all came down to which country had more wind power, horse power, and steam power.   Globalization 2.0 shrank the world from medium to a small size, by the utilization of multinational companies.    Many companies started to expand out of their regional territories and became a global force, which ultimately lead to the birth of a global economy.   Since there was enough goods and services moving from continent to continent, there became a global market.  Globalization 3.0 is driven more by the individual than by multinational corporations, and sort of levels the playing field.  It enables the individual to compete and collaborate on a larger scale with less resources and people.  Globalization 3.0 is flattening and shrinking the world.

The fall of the Berlin wall opened people’s eyes to the free world, and the globalization of the economy.   Where they were once blocked from the outside world, they now had the freedom to choose.   The fall of the wall gave economies the opportunity to be governed from the ground up, not from the top down.   The Cold War ended, and the Soviet Empire basically collapsed.   Many other countries rallied around the fall of the Berlin Wall.  India’s finance minister realized that he had to open up their economy, in order to grow with a new globalized force that was faster, stronger, and not did not lend itself to being conservative.   There was no future in Berlin because people could not see the outside world, and it prevented them from seeing the world on a global scale.  I think that Friedman’s main point was that when the wall came down, people felt free to see the world for what it really was, not how someone was telling them it was.

Netscape changed the way that we communicate, and ultimately changed the world.  Before Netscape, only a few people could use the World Wide Web, and there was no way to navigate, or share data in a meaningful way, with purpose.   After Netscape’s development, the world was able to share data and began to establish a global virtual economy, which was pertinent to the way we purchase goods and services today.   The Internet that was established as a kin to Netscape  and in my opinion, is the single greatest informational invention ever created.  It is without limits, and I cannot imagine what it will be like in 10 or 20 years.   Netscape essentially globalized the world, and enabled individuals to communicate with each other in a way that was not possible before it’s invention. 

As technology changes the world, we grow with it.  We grow as a society, we grow as individuals, and we grow as a global community.  There are truly no barriers of communication anymore, and the world seems to be headed towards a true flat and level playing field!