The world was being flattened. As I came to this realization, I was filled with both excitement and dread. The journalist in me was excited at having found a framework to better understand the morning headlines and to explain what was happening in the world today.
Clearly, it is now possible for more people than ever to collaborate and compete in real time with more other people on more different kinds of work from more different corners of the planet and on a more equal footing than at any previous time in the history of the world-using computers, e-mail, networks, teleconferencing, and dynamic new software. That is what Nandan was telling me. That was what I discovered on my journey to India and beyond.
And that is what this book is about. When you start to think of the world as flat, a lot of things make sense in ways they did not before.
But I was also excited personally, because what the flattening of the world means is that we are now connecting all the knowledge centers on the planet together into a single global network, which-if politics and terrorism do not get in the way-could usher in an amazing era of prosperity and innovation. But contemplating the flat world also left me filled with dread, professional and personal.
My personal dread derived from the obvious fact that it's not only the software writers and computer geeks who get empowered to collaborate on work in a flat world.
It's also al-Qaeda and other terrorist networks. The playing field is not being leveled only in ways that draw in and superempower a whole new group of innovators.
It's being leveled in a way that draws in and superempowers a whole new group of angry, frustrated, and humiliated men and women. Professionally, the recognition that the world was flat was unnerving because I realized that this flattening had been taking place while I was sleeping, and I had missed it. I wasn't really sleeping, but I was otherwise engaged. I spent almost all my time traveling in the Arab and Muslim worlds. During those years I lost the trail of globalization.
I found that trail again on my journey to Bangalore in February Once I did, I realized that something really important had happened while I was fixated on the olive groves of Kabul and Baghdad.
Globalization had gone to a whole new level. If you put The Lexus and the Olive Tree and this book together, the broad historical argument you end up with is that that there have been three great eras of globalization.
The first lasted from when Columbus set sail, opening trade between the Old World and the New World-until around It shrank the world from a size large to a size medium. Globalization 1. That is, in Globalization 1. In this era, countries and governments often inspired by religion or imperialism or a combination of both led the way in breaking down walls and knitting the world together, driving global integration.
In Globalization 1. How can I go global and collaborate with others through my country? The second great era, Globalization 2. This era shrank the world from a size medium to a size small.
In Globalization 2. These multinationals went global for markets and labor, spearheaded first by the expansion of the Dutch and English joint-stock companies and the Industrial Revolution. In the first half of this era, global integration was powered by falling transportation costs, thanks to the steam engine and the railroad, and in the second half by falling telecommunication costs-thanks to the diffusion of the telegraph, telephones, the PC, satellites, fiber-optic cable, and the early version of the World Wide Web.
It was during this era that we really saw the birth and maturation of a global economy, in the sense that there was enough movement of goods and information from continent to continent for there to be a global market, with global arbitrage in products and labor. The dynamic forces behind this era of globalization were breakthroughs in hardware-from steamships and railroads in the beginning to telephones and mainframe computers toward the end. And the big questions in this era were: Where does my company fit into the global economy?
How does it take advantage of the opportunities? How can I go global and collaborate with others through my company? The Lexus and the Olive Tree was primarily about the climax of this era, an era when the walls started falling all around the world, and integration, and the backlash to it, went to a whole new level.
But even as the walls fell, there were still a lot of barriers to seamless global integration. Remember, when Bill Clinton was elected president in , virtually no one outside of government and the academy had e-mail, and when I was writing The Lexus and the Olive Tree in ,the Internet and e-commerce were just taking off. Well, they took off-along with a lot of other things that came together while I was sleeping.
And that is why I argue in this book that around the year we entered a whole new era: Globalization 3. Globalization 3. And while the dynamic force in Globalization 1. And the lever that is enabling individuals and groups to go global so easily and so seamlessly is not horsepower, and not hardware, but software- all sorts of new applications-in conjunction with the creation of a global fiber-optic network that has made us all next-door neighbors.
Individuals must, and can, now ask, Where do I fit into the global competition and opportunities of the day, and how can I, on my own, collaborate with others globally?
But Globalization 3. It is different in that Globalization 1. Even though China actually had the biggest economy in the world in the eighteenth century, it was Western countries, companies, and explorers who were doing most of the globalizing and shaping of the system. But going forward, this will be less and less true. Because it is flattening and shrinking the world, Globalization 3. Individuals from every corner of the flat world are being empowered. While this empowerment of individuals to act globally is the most important new feature of Globalization 3.
I discuss both in detail later in the book. Needless to say, I had only the vaguest appreciation of all this as I left Nandan's office that day in Bangalore. But as I sat contemplating these changes on the balcony of my hotel room that evening, I did know one thing: I wanted to drop everything and write a book that would enable me to understand how this flattening process happened and what its implications might be for countries, companies, and individuals.
Eventually, I was able to bring her around, and I hope I will be able to do the same with you, dear reader. Let me start by taking you back to the beginning of my journey to India, and other points east, and share with you some of the encounters that led me to conclude the world was no longer round-but flat.
Jaithirth "Jerry" Rao was one of the first people I met in Bangalore and I hadn't been with him for more than a few minutes at the Leela Palace hotel before he told me that he could handle my tax returns and any other accounting needs I had-from Bangalore.
No thanks, I demurred, I already have an accountant in Chicago. Jerry just smiled. He was too polite to say it-that he may already be my accountant, or rather my accountant's accountant, thanks to the explosion in the outsourcing of tax preparation.
Rao's company has pioneered a work flow software program with a standardized format that makes the outsourcing of tax returns cheap and easy. The whole process starts, Jerry explained, with an accountant in the United States scanning my last year's tax returns, plus my W-2, W-4, , bonuses, and stock statements-everything-into a computer server, which is physically located in California or Texas.
All the data stays in the U. We take data protection and privacy very seriously. The accountant in India can see the data on his screen, but he cannot take a download of it or print it out-our program does not allow it. The most he could do would be to try to memorize it, if he had some ill intention. The accountants are not allowed to even take a paper and pen into the room when they are working on the returns.
And Sonia, you and your team in Delhi do the Washington and Florida returns. In , some 25, U. In , the number was , In , it is expected to be , In a decade, you will assume that your accountant has outsourced the basic preparation of your tax returns-if not more. Two years ago, though, I went to a technology convention in Las Vegas and was approached by some medium-size [American] accounting firms, and they said they could not afford to set up big tax outsourcing operations to India, but the big guys could, and [the medium guys] wanted to get ahead of them.
So we developed a software product called VTR- Virtual Tax Room-to enable these medium-size accounting firms to easily outsource tax returns. These midsize firms "are getting a more level playing field, which they were denied before," said Jerry. Is the message to Americans, "Mama, don't let your kids grow up to be accountants"? I asked. Not really, said Rao. You know what is needed to prepare a tax return? Very little creative work. This is what will move overseas.
Now let's talk about how we manage your estate and what you are going to do about your kids. Do you want to leave some money in your trusts? Gary Boomer, a CPA and CEO of Boomer Consulting in Manhattan, Kansas, wrote, "This past [tax] season produced over , [outsourced] returns and has now expanded beyond individual returns to trusts, partnerships and corporations.
The primary reason that the industry has been able to scale up as rapidly as it has over the past three years is due to the investment that these [foreign-based] companies have made in systems, processes and training. With the help of high-speed communications, stringent training, and standardized forms, these young Indians can fairly rapidly be converted into basic Western accountants at a fraction of the cost. Some of the Indian accounting firms even go about marketing themselves to American firms through teleconferencing and skip the travel.
Concluded Boomer, "The accounting profession is currently in transformation. Those who get caught in the past and resist change will be forced deeper into commoditization. Those who can create value through leadership, relationships and creativity will transform the industry, as well as strengthen relationships with their existing clients.
What you're telling me, I said to Rao, is that no matter what your profession-doctor, lawyer, architect, accountant-if you are an American, you better be good at the touchy-feely service stuff, because anything that can be digitized can be outsourced to either the smartest or the cheapest producer, or both. Rao answered, "Everyone has to focus on what exactly is their value-add. But what if I am just an average accountant? I went to a state university.
Eventually I got my CPA. I work in a big accounting firm, doing a lot of standard work. I rarely meet with clients. They keep me in the back. But it is a decent living and the firm is basically happy with me. What is going to happen to me in this system? We are in the middle of a big technological change, and when you live in a society that is at the cutting edge of that change [like America], it is hard to predict.
It's easy to predict for someone living in India. In ten years we are going to be doing a lot of the stuff that is being done in America today. We can predict our future. But we are behind you. You are defining the future. America is always on the edge of the next creative wave So it is difficult to look into the eyes of that accountant and say this is what is going to be. We should not trivialize that.
We must deal with it and talk about it honestly Any activity where we can digitize and decompose the value chain, and move the work around, will get moved around. Some people will say, Yes, but you can't serve me a steak. We can say, Yes, Mr. Friedman, we can give you a table by the window. If you go back and read the basic economics textbooks, they will tell you: Goods are traded, but services are consumed and produced in the same place.
And you cannot export a haircut. But we are coming close to exporting a haircut, the appointment part. What kind of haircut do you want? Which barber do you want? All those things can and will be done by a call center far away. As we ended our conversation, I asked Rao what he is up to next.
He was full of energy. He told me he'd been talking to an Israeli company that is making some big advances in compression technology to allow for easier, better transfers of CAT scans via the Internet so you can quickly get a second opinion from a doctor half a world away.
I will not hesitate to renew the license of these plugins. I have been using FV Player for over 2 years and its been awesome. Great thing is that I can control my videos in the back end of word press, rather than in Vimeo, YouTube or other video hosting sites, which offers limited functionalities. Customer satisfaction has been great. They responded timely to a request I had with Chapters, modified the Pro Version to accommodate certain features within weeks.
One of the features students love is that fact that if you are watching a video in a playlist, you can stop, exit and return to the last saved position. It keeps a track of videos watched in the playlist and students can restart or continue from where they left off.
This was another of the main reasons why I purchased this plugin. I love the skins - wish they could give me more skins - what's currently available is so much better than the inflexible skins of some video hosting sites. I have had no issues or plugin conflicts with FV player. I chose FV because you can host videos anywhere you choose and stream them from your site.
This gives me a lot of flexibility and prevents me from being locked into any particular service. This reliability is very important to me.
I am using the FV player since 5 year and I am very happy!! The plugin is frequently updaded and works very fine. Nothing to complaint. Thank you! Contributors FolioVision. Interested in development? Changelog 7. Thanks to Arcangelo Saracino for the report! Compatibility — Avada builder wp-admin fixes Google Analytics — switching from ga. Until now it was only possible to put in videos using MP4 format without any kind of download protection.
Quality Switching — improving the label for qualities in range of p HD if there is no higher quality, otherwise SD Bugfix — iOS video recovery issues in playlists 7. It was preventing FV Player from working in these themes. It applies to desktop computer displays — minimal width of pixels.
Proper fix coming in FV Player 7. Very useful for lightboxes which show inline HTML or iframe. Pro users need to upgrade FV Player Pro as well if they experience slight display issues. CSS — only loading if FV Player is found in the posts which are about to display or in any active widget or if there is some image for lightbox. Lightbox for images — supports srcset to make sure properly sizes images are loaded into lightbox view SEO — support for Schema.
End Popup — making sure it works on the last item in playlist only Speed control — making sure it works for Android when using Firefox Vimeo Pro — showing a notice to install Firefox if user has playback issues due to TLS 1. Clicking it gives your visitors a link to the exact place in the video they are watching. On by default, unless you have disabled embedding.
Feature — Sharing settings added into shortcode editor Beta Feature — Audio support — allows you to use all the FV Player Pro features with audio and also playlists. This takes care of the Google Chrome video download button 6. Feature — Lightbox — now you can use HTML like to make clicking that image open a video Feature — Skin settings — now you can see the changes you are doing live if you play the video CSS — renaming the play-button class to fvp-play-button to prevent conflicts with some themes CSS — subtitle styling improvements Bugfix — PHP 5.
Better looking, with improved workflow and video preview functionality. Compatibility — fix for PHP memory warnings when checking video length on post save Compatibility — fix for Pods plugin there were issues in some cases Playlist — setting active element before video starts playing Shortcode editor — shortcode parsing fix Translations — changing language domain to fv-wordpress-flowplayer Pro — Video ads — making it work again when using video lightbox Pro — Video ads — support for Google Analytics added 6.
Pro — Vimeo — support for Full HD resolution added 6. HLS Flash playback, skin improvements, hover tooltip for seeking and a lot more. Bugfix — Internet Explorer on Windows Phone 8. This will be the new default in a couple of versions. Bugfix — fix for disappearing share bar caused by new Google Analytics tracking in last version 2.
Please try again later, perhaps the stream is currently offline. Pro — Vimeo splash screen parsing re-save your post to take effect 2. Bugfix — video checker was sometimes listing JavaScript objects 2.
Added option into Player Skin section. Fix — settings screen cleanup Beta feature — video duration scanning check Integrations Pro version 0.
Pro version 0. Bugfix — annoying iOS 7 bug where black lines appear after videos — fixed! Fix — playlist style fix — alignment of more than 4 items Bugfix — basic Youtube embed fullscreen function Pro — Pro extension released! Adds support for video lightbox and advanced Vimeo embedding! The sitewide logo has to be set for this to work though.
Users can still use the browser back button. Sorry about the inconvenience. Press and hold Volume down then press and release the Power key. Press and release Volume Down until you enter Recovery Mode. Use Power to select Recovery Mode and the device will restart. An Android robot with a red exclamation mark will appear.
Press and hold Power, press Volume Up once, then release Power. If asked to confirm, use the Volume and Power keys to select Yes. Workarounds : You could try using a different keyboard.
There are various options in the Play Store. This problem might be caused by poor memory management. Potential fixes : Start by turning the Moto G completely off and on again. This might, at least temporarily, solve the problem. Press and hold Volume down, then press and release the Power key.
Just make sure you back up anything precious first. Issue: Blank or pale screen There are a couple of potential issues here. You can go in and disable it. In that case shine a bright light on the light sensor on the front of your Moto G and the screen should brighten enough for you to see it. You could also lock the phone with the Power button, then swipe up, swipe down twice, and move your finger from left to right near the top of the screen until you catch the brightness control.
Try booting into recovery mode to wipe the cache partition. Bug: Loss of signal A lot of Moto G owners have experiencd a problem with loss of signal. Workarounds : Hold down the Power button to turn the Moto G off and then on again.
The problem should be temporarily resolved. Sometimes switching Airplane mode on and then off again is enough to resolve it, but the problem can return randomly. Glitch: Call volume too low A lot of people have encountered an issue with making calls where the volume seems to be very low. Try pressing the Volume up and Volume down keys together or press Volume down and then Volume up again and you should be able to change it to a comfortable volume.
Use a soft brush or compressed air to clean them out. You should see the boot screen with the Normal Reboot option highlighted and you can press Volume up to boot it.
Problem: Freezing and rebooting A lot of people have been having trouble with the Moto G screen freezing and the phone rebooting at random times, sometimes when the screen is off. Workarounds : Tap the power button to turn the screen off and then tap it again to bring it back.
This might temporarily unfreeze it. Tap and hold the power button for a few seconds, until the device reboots. Potential fixes : Try running the Moto G in safe mode. Press the power button and then tap and hold Power off until the Reboot to safe mode window pops up.
Tap OK and it will reboot in safe mode. If the phone runs fine in safe mode then one of your apps is the problem.
You could try removing installed apps one at a time until you find the culprit, or you could just wipe the device and start from scratch. Make sure you back up anything precious first.
I wish I hadn't upgraded. The previous version worked. It's embarrassing that y'all let this go public in this state. Where is the zoom control? Should be a slider bar. Not random rubber-banding pinch zoom that only semi works on auto target detect. Why does the zoom reset when I change a setting?
Where's the sensitivity slider bar? Medium is full auto fliers in the corners, low doesn't pick up the laser. Updates broke app. After updates app is incredibly glitchy. Auto find target feature is nice - unfortunately the rest of the updates broke the app. App immediately starts registering shots despite no shots fired. Voice is now hard to understand as young Arny mumbles out. Cannot find the shoot from holster setting which is the reason I paid for the app previously. Responded to review - have now lowered it to a 1 star rating.
Their response addressed none of the issues mentioned. I have owned this system for over a year. I was using it all the time then, put it down for a while. I then open the updated version and now have to pay for quick draw? How about the original features remain free with purchase of equipment and additional features can be upgraded?
How did I have quick draw already and now have to pay for it? My GF bought this for me in Dec for Christmas and it worked great. Haven't used it in a while and got a new phone. Now I cannot get it to work. Screen is completely different. Cannot set up the target.
It just keeps going off without even shooting. Don't get thr screen to choose Bulls Eye or Quick draw like before and does not have the target match up like the old screen. Everything is different. Very disappointed. Have to constantly fiddle with the adjustments and it still never sets up right on my iPhone X. The target is always a little skewed as I have to angle my phone to get close to a proper picture of the target.
Not sure why that is. If I had reviewed this app last week it would have gotten 5 stars. I bought the ITarget Pro system about 4 weeks ago. It arrived and I downloaded the app, which worked perfectly. Today it could not find the target and then just began making gunfire noises at random.
I uninstalled, then re-installed the app and was met with the same problems. Apparently the app was updated on July 12 which made it completely unusable.
Wow, this has to be the most frustrating thing ever. Auto target doesn't work, manual doesn't work, it just doesn't work. And when you're lucky enough to get it to register a shot, it's not even close to where the laser hit. I followed all the directions about lighting and sensitivity but nothing I'm hoping they can fix this, if so I'll update the review.
Fix the Damn APP! Whatever you did in the last update , please undo it! I went overseas and now after I got e it is horrible. The off set feature is horrendous, doesn't work.
The app registers hits all over, even when I hit the same spot. When I bought this I liked it so much I got one for my son in the army. Really feel disgusted with the app now. The original version of this app was the best laser dry fire app and then they "upgraded" it and now it is no longer simple and it doesn't even detect the laser properly in even a basic way. Bring back the old version, I won't use this new one and won't recommend it to anyone. It is tragic that such an easy to use, reliable app was made useless!
This app worked well around 7 months ago which is when i got it. Decided to train with it again and my god they destroyed it with the newer updates. They added more features but made the basic ones unusable. It lags like crazy when recording score.
I put my handgun at point blank and saw it hit 10, it records a I can no longer zoom away from the target useing the stand the product came with so it can fit my phone screen. No longer works at all Will not register any shots in auto, and when I set it to manual and align the target to the triangles as soon as I hit start it will start registering like I'm shooting a machine gun and I'm not even holding my pistol I have tried everything from clearing data and cache to uninstalling and reinstalling the app but same result everytime.
I loved the old app. It was easy to setup and it registered your shots. Somehow the new app automatically updated to my phone, the 2. I am very disappointed and I wish I could get the old app back on my phone. So sad! This is a good idea but it seems no one has looked into keeping the app up to date with the latest phones and hardware. The 2. It no longer registers the laser unless in near complete darkness, anything brighter in the room gets registered as a hit. Only high sensitivity comes anywhere close to working.
I liked this system until the update. Unfortunately I may have to find something else to use. Hi I have to be honest, I hate the new update s. I told so many people about iTarget pro when I first bought it last March. I raved about it- Whatever you changed in the laser sensitivity and targeting systems is horrible. I used to be able to shoot indoors, with lights on, low light, lights off, daylight- never mattered.
It would always register my hits providing I adjusted the sensitivity prior to my session. The ability to adjust it properly seems to be gone completely.
I was always able to tell when the app would register a hit, because when it was in the sensitivity setting mode, and I fired at the target I would get a big white cross centered on the laser dot. I previously was able to use your app, and target overlay on top of many different targets.
Again it always worked flawlessly providing I adjusted the sensitivity as needed. Very disappointed in the update. You really should read through some of the recent reviews on the App Store. Most people feel the same way. Major step backwards. I need to be able to shoot at life size targets from 20 to 30 feet, and hit consistently- this app always had that ability in the past.
I hope you can bring back the old functionality of the laser sensitivity settings. My shooting has improved dramatically using this app over the last 12 months. I just tried using the app for the first time since the update and wasted an hour trying to make it work. It just worked before. Now I have to screw with every setting trying to get it to work and it still barely registers.
I can no longer recommend this app to anyone. The update has ruined the app. The system registers shots every time the camera picks up movement. The program is useless. Used the old app daily and loved it cannot get this new update to work.
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