Conclusion de la Flat World...

Accessing free information and being able to interact with anyone else on the planet was a big flattener in my world as it is in yours. Each individual has at least a handful of experiences to recount how his or her world flattened. Acquired knowledge will definitely help us become more effective and efficient in life’s task, or perhaps completely change our views, opinions or beliefs. So in that regard, most of us are just beginners and have a journey of life to cover, just like a new born baby does. The Flat concepts will allow each one of us to better function in the business world of tomorrow. In addition, it would defineltly have a great influence on our interpersonal skills and sense of humor, which will allow us to connect with others in a beneficial manner. I believe these strengths will give us the basic set of skills that we need to overcome our weakness and provide us with the foundation for building a successful career. Stretching beyond this and looking at the big picture and seeing things in context must be the goals that one needs to set.

In Darwin’s words: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, not the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change”. So what do you think? I see my world flattening. I feel it everyday. And I guess it will become inevitable part of my everyday life. It’s a new game out there. Don’t complain about it – join and enjoy it. If you are not good enough to play in this different kind of game, you’ll simply be sitting on the sidelines watching others play.

The flat world doesn't end there...you will hear more of it in the coming blogs. Do drop in your appreciations and/ or shower your brickbats. A la prochaine !!

Courtesy: http://stratstars.pbwiki.com/

Old times sake - Communication and Information access

In the early 90s, communication and internet connectivity were dampeners too. My father waited for several years, to hear his first dial tone on a phone that he owned. Not long ago, say in the early 90's, I reminisce the times our family huddled around a telephone, we waited for a trunk call to speak to family members barely 1000 miles away. Even worse, before the arrival of the phone, the wait was as long as an hour from a public telephone booth. Kudos to the tehcie geniuses and teh DOT COM burst, today, it takes roughly an hour for me to get a permanent communication line, few minutes to get a mobile phone, and barely few seconds to get connected to my friends in Toronto or parents in Mumbai. As long as I have the money to pay, I could make my dial tone follow me wherever I am on the planet.

There were a few things that struck me as important as education. I remember my time as a School kiddo, when I spent several days showing my parents and sister how to access information on the internet. Now they can find more information than they’d ever need and can easily communicate with me in a few seconds on the Web. This “level playing field” for everyone was a distant dream twenty years ago. Pictures of needing a channel to watch Hollywood movies, tri-band transistors, video player that my father brought from overseas in 1987 are still fresh.

I was a vivid admirer of the world encyclopedia book and subscribing to such books in those days wasn’t easy. I had to pay hefty amounts to get to the local library to lay my hands on such books. It was certainly not a level playing field then.

Flatness is not about outsourcing and off shoring to India, China or any place under the sun; it is about access, crumbling of boundaries, ensuring that anyone in the world can build products and services from any part of the world and sell it in any part of the world where he/she can get maximum value. (a common definition that you will come across in the web)

My next chapter will include the conclusion to this Flat world concept, however the underlying fact about the Flat World as whole in the blog with different contents would remain the same - The World is Flat.

Disclaimer: Any resemblance to any characted, fiction, or blogs is purely co-incidential.

Images: Connector --> courtesy: http://www.dailygalaxy.com/ and Books --> courtesy: http://psychservices.ucsd.edu/