Netscape helped Flatten the World
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Definition
A Flat World refers to the globalization of the Web 2.0 era that allows people to interact, communicate and collaborate on a global scale without traveling. In this way the world has shrunk to an all new "smallness". According to Thomas L. Friedman's article "It's a Flat World, After All", August 9, 1995, the day that Netscape went public, was one of ten events that helped the "flattening" occur. The ten events are:
- The Berlin Wall coming down
- Netscape going public
- Workflow
- Outsourcing
- Offshoring
- Open-sourcing
- Insourcing
- Supply-chaining
- In-forming
- 'The Steroids' - wireless access and VoIP
Overview
August 9, 1995 was the day that Netscape went public. This date is vitally important to the explosion of the internet and the flattening of the world for two reasons. Netscape allowed the everyday, non-computer literate person to be able to use the internet as it brought the web to life for users by displaying pictures and data stored there without having to enter complicated codes and text to retrieve it. Netscape's stock taking off brought on the 'dot.com explosion' and triggered the 'dot.com bubble' which directly led to a massive over-investment in fiber-optic telecommunications on a global basis and drove the cost of communicating all manner of information (voice, images, data, etc) down to nearly nothing. In this way, people were now able to collaborate on a global level without having to leave their own backyards. This ease of communication at such a minimal cost directly fed the majority of the "Flattners": out-sourcing, off-shoring, open-sourcing, insourcing, supply-chaining and in-forming.
Background on Globalization
To summarize quickly...in previous eras the world's economies have been driven by large entities (countries and then corporations). Over time and with each new technological evolution the world has become smaller and more easily accessed. With the confluence of several key factors around the year 2000, the world has shrunk to the point of being tiny. People are now the driving factor for economies. Individuals can now compete for jobs from anywhere in the world, without the cost of immigrating. Conversely, employers are now also able to look for the most efficient, cost effective and all-round 'best' person for the job - whether that person is local or from around the world.
References
Friedman, Thomas L. New York Times Magazine; Apr 3, 2005; ProQuest national Newspapers Core pg. 32