Personal Opinion

I really enjoyed this book. I learned a lot from it that I had no idea was going on in the world. I have never read about technology or the businesses of America, and I found all of it really interesting. This book changed my views of America and they way things are run around the world.
I don't really feel like the flat world is effecting me much right now except for the cheaper goods and the way we can communicate with anyone around the world. As I get older though there will be less jobs and more people competing for them. If I get an "untouchable" job as Friedman says I should be secure in the work area, because my job wont get outsourced or off-shored. I feel like the flat world could be a good thing as long as I stay educated and stay focused on what I want. The same goes for friends, they should stay educated and know what to expect as we get older. The flat world could effect some f my friends by their parents losing jobs by them being off-shored, or technology stepping in and taking over. Our parents, teachers and peers could help me and other kids in the flat world by staying educated and up to date on the flat world. They could also encourage us to go after our dreams, and to inform us on what jobs wont be taken over and lost. I don't embrace the flat world, because I feel like America can't rise to the challenge. Other countries are going to get even more educated and skilled than us and they are going to beat us out on all our jobs. We would have to educated ourselves, but there are more Americans that have no idea about whats going on then Americans who do. More and more companies are going to be outsourced and off-shored and American people will suffer. Due to our education downfall we will fall behind on technology and we will start buying from other countries and they are going to get ahead of the game. Otherwise America is going to fall, more than it is already.

Is the flat world a good thing for America?

The flat world is in some ways a good thing for America. Consumers get a lot of the benefit of the flat world. With all the supply-chains, off-shoring, and the other flatteners America consumers get quality products for cheaper prices. American businesses also benefit from the flat world. They can get cheap and smart labor oversees and make good money here in America. You just have to be a big CEO of a company to insure your place in the flat workforce of America. Another benefit of a flat world is technology and the way everyone in the world is connected. The technology of the flat world has made everything so much easier. They are coming up with new ways all the time to continue making the world even flatter. An example is supply-chaining. Walmart has machines packing and doing everything that used to be manual labor. Technology also connected everyone globally, which could eventually become a really good thing. If America educates our people better than they have to keep up with India and other countries, and keeps upgrading technology we should really benefit from the flat world. We just need to get our jobs. We will be in competition with China and India and if we are educated and once again better in the jobs we do and created, America is going to benefit a lot. If we outsource and off-shore less, cut the competition down we will make more money. In order for America to benefit even more, changes need to be made.

What are the potential negative consequences to a flat world?

Internationally, potential negative consequences could be a huge job lose. If we outsource and off-shore more jobs are going to open up in other countries and eventually there will be a masive job lose in the United States. Also America itself in my opinion will lose its edge. India had done a great job educating its natives. America has suffered in the department and its come back to bit us in the butt. Over the years jobs are going to become more and more scarce. People growing up will have to compete with people oversees, and us being less educated, they are more likley to get the companies and the jobs. With all of this happening, America is not on top anymore. We are less of a threat and that opens up a door for terroists. Terriorsts could be a huge consequence to America.

What is "convergence" as Friedman describes it?

The first convergence was all ten flatteners coming together. They are all very important to the flat world but they couldn't flatten the world by themselves. They all had to merge in order to get full effect on successfully making the world flat. By coming together when one flattener grows other flatteners are effected and the world is flattened even more. The second convergence is businesses have collaborated horizontally instead of vertically. Companies and people have to mesh together, interact with one another, and interact with other departments, businesses and companies. Convergence number two changed the work force, it created new habits and changed the way businesses and countries work together. Convergence number three is when countries that followed a soviet plan opened their economies to the world. It added lots more intelligence to the leveled playing field and more countries and businesses started working horizontally across the world. This was a major flattener. When the Berlin wall fell 3 billion more people joined the flat world. These people are now aware of the new business world. Even though only a small portion of the new comers are of help, having so many people effects the way our politics and economies work.

How technology is reshaping human interaction.

How easy is it to talk to someone half way across the world today? Very easy. Years ago, this wasn't so easy for people. Technology has opened up this whole new world to business men, and to people in their homes. Since the invention of the Internet and Netscape, flattener number one, communication has been completely different. Who hasn't e-mailed before? I am willing to bet that almost every single American and a good portion of other countries population has e-mailed before. It has become a huge part of society today. Not only the Internet, but cell-phones. Not only has technology effected the way we interact, but because of the flattened world people are losing jobs in America. India and other outsourced countries are gaining jobs. When Netscape was born and the Internet expanded across America tons of new jobs started happening. When the dot com bust hit even more jobs opened up. As the world started to go flat, business started to realize that we can get cheaper labor and faster service in other countries. Outsourcing, open-sourcing, offshoring, supply-chaining, insourcing and in-forming have become a huge part of the way American business are run now. That means that people are losing jobs in America. Economically technology has helped America. It has created a flat world where we can outsource and get cheaper and better labor. GE was one of the first businesses to realize how educated and intelligent Indian workers are. They took advantage of the new technology world and started communicating and working with India to make computers. India had a huge benefit from this, major up rises in money when Y2K hit. Doctors in America can have medical reports done in India for 50 dollars, in America it would run them 1,000 dollars. If they need someone in Bangalore to help create animation with them on a deadline, they can communicate and have the job done before the deadline is up. Technology in general has reshaped the business world as we know it. Almost every country now has there own sources of technology. Imports and Exports have made the world a whole new place too. This creates open trade with other countries like China. When China joined the WTO America saw this as a huge advantage and started offshoring to China. Now a lot of our goods here in the U.S are made in China, or some other offshoring country like Thailand, Japan or Vietnam. Technology and the way the world is using it is causing the world to go flat. Countries are now intertwined, we all share and feed off each other, and we can all communicate personally or for business purposes thanks to technology.

What Friedman means by "The world is flat".

When Friedman says "The world is flat" he means everything is expanding. Companies are expanding, countries, technology and more. America used to be on top, head honcho of everything, America was the place to be. Now everything has changed, the world is flattening out. Outsourcing, open-sourcing, offshoring, insourcing, in-forming and supply-chaining are becoming a huge deal. Almost everything now can be done in another country. Everything we do here in America is intertwined with another country. We all work together. Some companies take advantage of it, others don't. The flat world is making the world equal. We now can all have the same jobs, the same products and the same technology. This could be a good thing, or a bad thing.