Week 5: It is too early to say:
The World Is Flat
When I read the story that Chinese students exchanged their experiences of answering visa official’s questions through online chat rooms, even giving them “nick names”, I felt that Friedman describes it so vividly! As he mentions Dalian, a modern city in China, I think Friedman exactly knows about China a lot. However, except for these details, I cannot agree with him totally at some main points.
Friedman assumes the world is flat, because “the playing field is being leveled”. He said countries like India and China are now able to compete for global knowledge work as never before. But I think he is over-worried. Although I hope it is true, it is too early to say that the world is flat. Outsourcing is in a mushrooming, and it looks like a menace for some people. But in fact it is not so severe as it looks, just like two sides of a coin. Even with the outsourcing some service jobs shift from the U.S. to China or India, China or India’s rapidly growing economy is creating a massive demand for many more American goods and services. As Friedman said himself, what goes around, comes around.
About the US economy and position in the world, I agree that the US is always on the edge of the next creative wave. Therefore, it still has absolute advantage among the world. It attracts kinds of excellent youth from all over the earth, pushing it run so fast. Others could chase it, but could never catch it or surpass, at least in a short term. The fore and the latter are both running so fast, who can tell the outcome? Some of my Indian and Chinese friends once told me their feelings of working for American big systematized companies: they are always making a sleeve of one elegant suit, but not the whole suit.
Anyway, the budding trend that the world is flat is true, and is a piece of good news not only for me but also for all people, because globalization pushes our world step ahead. I hope it comes into true soon.
Ecologizing Mobile Media
Howard Rheingold’s article mainly bases on the “Ten Principles of Technology” that Postman proposed and adds on his own responses and insights, providing arguments about the divide between the “know-how” and “don’t know how” populations, and biases in many respects.
When I read the story that Chinese students exchanged their experiences of answering visa official’s questions through online chat rooms, even giving them “nick names”, I felt that Friedman describes it so vividly! As he mentions Dalian, a modern city in China, I think Friedman exactly knows about China a lot. However, except for these details, I cannot agree with him totally at some main points.
Friedman assumes the world is flat, because “the playing field is being leveled”. He said countries like India and China are now able to compete for global knowledge work as never before. But I think he is over-worried. Although I hope it is true, it is too early to say that the world is flat. Outsourcing is in a mushrooming, and it looks like a menace for some people. But in fact it is not so severe as it looks, just like two sides of a coin. Even with the outsourcing some service jobs shift from the U.S. to China or India, China or India’s rapidly growing economy is creating a massive demand for many more American goods and services. As Friedman said himself, what goes around, comes around.
About the US economy and position in the world, I agree that the US is always on the edge of the next creative wave. Therefore, it still has absolute advantage among the world. It attracts kinds of excellent youth from all over the earth, pushing it run so fast. Others could chase it, but could never catch it or surpass, at least in a short term. The fore and the latter are both running so fast, who can tell the outcome? Some of my Indian and Chinese friends once told me their feelings of working for American big systematized companies: they are always making a sleeve of one elegant suit, but not the whole suit.
Anyway, the budding trend that the world is flat is true, and is a piece of good news not only for me but also for all people, because globalization pushes our world step ahead. I hope it comes into true soon.
Ecologizing Mobile Media
Howard Rheingold’s article mainly bases on the “Ten Principles of Technology” that Postman proposed and adds on his own responses and insights, providing arguments about the divide between the “know-how” and “don’t know how” populations, and biases in many respects.
posted by Jing @ 12:06 AM
2 Comments:
At 8:20 PM,
fishytom said…
growing up outside the states, myself, i can somewhat see your approach to Friedman's readings. i found your insight very interesting, especially on the topic of "what goes around, comes around". American busineeses and entreprenuers, praising the mightly dollar, are in such a rush to make more money faster, easier and cheaper. Faster production and the sriving for more efficiency often lets the quality of goods drop...with many jobs going abroad, american companies may be paying less for labor, but also training people in foreign countries in technologies and skills allowing these countries to in turn compete with the states. in other words, America is openning itself up (and has been since the 1980's) to become a dumping ground for foreign goods that are cheaper and of better quality. so... what goes around, comes around.
At 11:50 AM,
Jing said…
yes, i concede that America is openning itself up and contribute a lot to the progress of the whole world. collaboration is so necessary for all nowadays.
but the external fact is: although maybe somebody could make a better sleeve, some others could make a better collar, America is still the only one could make the best whole suit. it is external, not designed by anybody. so, in a short term, America's position will not be fluctuated.
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