From the first written language to instant messaging people have always sought after the technology that offered the quickest and easiest way with which to communicate and interact with each other. Until recently the speed at which communication was possible slowed the farther you were physically apart from the person you were trying to reach. Due to technological developments this is no longer the case. You can now speak instantly with anyone in the world for little to no cost.
With this comes a gigantic shift in how people interact. If you want to relay a message to a friend in Australia, you no longer need to physically write your message on paper, place that paper, in an envelope, and send it through the postal service, waiting days, weeks, or even months, for that friend to receive your letter, and then wait another equally long time to receive your friends reply; you now do this instantly from anywhere you want by pulling out any number of wireless devices which can now conveniently fit in your pocket, and typing your friend this same message, and being able to receive a response within a few seconds.
Personally this creates opportunities to interact with people you never would have been able to. Internationally this creates the ability to interact with other countries without all the hassle of slow communication, in that instead of spending time to wait for replies on things such as peace treaties, and trade barriers, governments can now much more quickly resolve (or create) problems. Economically this allows a number of things, one, both large corporations and individuals have the ability to reach a global consumer base, instead of only those in their general area, greatly increasing the chance for a single entrepreneur to become successful (provided he knows how to take advantage of the flat world); and two, it allows people to be able to access the abilities of everyone in the world, such as the number of technical graduates in India, in order to create a much higher rate of productivity, in that you can have the best minds from all over the world, not just the ones in your small community. What it all comes down to really, are two things, the speed at which anyone can communicate, and the ability of a single person to be heard anywhere.
With this comes a gigantic shift in how people interact. If you want to relay a message to a friend in Australia, you no longer need to physically write your message on paper, place that paper, in an envelope, and send it through the postal service, waiting days, weeks, or even months, for that friend to receive your letter, and then wait another equally long time to receive your friends reply; you now do this instantly from anywhere you want by pulling out any number of wireless devices which can now conveniently fit in your pocket, and typing your friend this same message, and being able to receive a response within a few seconds.
Personally this creates opportunities to interact with people you never would have been able to. Internationally this creates the ability to interact with other countries without all the hassle of slow communication, in that instead of spending time to wait for replies on things such as peace treaties, and trade barriers, governments can now much more quickly resolve (or create) problems. Economically this allows a number of things, one, both large corporations and individuals have the ability to reach a global consumer base, instead of only those in their general area, greatly increasing the chance for a single entrepreneur to become successful (provided he knows how to take advantage of the flat world); and two, it allows people to be able to access the abilities of everyone in the world, such as the number of technical graduates in India, in order to create a much higher rate of productivity, in that you can have the best minds from all over the world, not just the ones in your small community. What it all comes down to really, are two things, the speed at which anyone can communicate, and the ability of a single person to be heard anywhere.
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