the.world.is.flat-第22章
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instructions as to how to pay up。 PayPal can accept money from the purchaser in one
of three ways； notes ecommerce…guide。com： charging the purchaser's credit card for
any transactions （payments）； debiting a checking account for any payments； or
deducting payments from a PayPal account established with a personal check。 Payment
recipients can use the money in their account for online purchases or payments； can
receive the payment from PayPal by check； or can have PayPal directly deposit the
money into a checking account。 Setting up a PayPal account is simple。 As a payer；
all you have to do is to provide your name； your e…mail address； your credit card
information； and your billing address for your credit card。
All of these interoperable banking and e…commerce functions flat
tened the Internet marketplace so radically that even eBay was taken by surprise。
Before PayPal； explained eBay CEO Meg Whitman； 〃If I did business on eBay in 1999；
the only way I could pay you as a buyer was with a check or money order； a paper…based
system。 There was no electronic way to send money； and you were too small a merchant
to qualify for a credit card account。 What PayPal did was enable people； individuals；
to accept credit cards。 I could pay you as an individual seller on eBay with a credit
card。 This really leveled the playing field and made commerce more frictionless。〃
In fact； it was so good that eBay bought PayPal； but not on the recommendation of
its Wall Street investment bankers… on the recommendation of its users。
〃We woke up one day；〃 said Whitman； 〃and found out that 20 percent of the people on
eBay were saying； 'I accept PayPal； please pay me that way。' And we said； 'Who are
these people and what are they doing？' At first we tried to fight them and launched
our own service； called Billpoint。 Finally； in July 2002； we were at ＇an＇ eBay Live
＇convention＇ and the drumbeat through the hall was deafening。 Our community was
telling us； 'Would you guys stop fighting？ We want a standard…and by the way； we have
picked the standard and it's called PayPal； and we know you guys at eBay would like
it to be your ＇standard＇； but it's theirs。' And that is when we knew we had to buy
the company； because it was the standard and it was not ours。。。 It is the best
acquisition we ever made。〃
Here's how I just wrote the above section： I transferred my notes from the Meg Whitman
phone interview from my Dell laptop to my Dell desktop； then fired up my DSL connection
and double…clicked on AOL； where I used Google to find a Web site that could explain
PayPal； which directed me to ecommerce…guide。com。 I downloaded the definition from
the ecommerce…guide。com Web site； which was written in some Internet font as a text
file； and then called it up on Microsoft Word； which automatically transformed it
into a Word document； which I could then use to write this section on my desktop。
That is also work flow！ And what is most important about it is not that I have these
work flow tools； it is how many people in India； Russia； China； Brazil； and Timbuktu
now have them as well…along with all the transmission pipes and protocols so they
too can plug and play from anywhere。
Where is all this going？ More and more work flow will be automated。 In the coming
phase of Web services…work flow； here is how you will make a dentist appointment：
You will instruct your computer by voice to make an appointment。 Your computer will
automatically translate your voice into a digital instruction。 It will automatically
check your calendar against the available dates on your dentist's calendar and offer
you three choices。 You will click on the preferred date and hour。 The week before
your appointment； your dentist's calendar will automatically send you an e…mail
reminding you of the appointment。 The night before； you will get a computer…generated
voice message by phone； also reminding of your appointment。
For work flow to reach this next stage； and the productivity enhancements it will
deliver； 〃we need more and more common standards；〃 said IBM's strategic planner Cawley。
〃The first round of standards to emerge with the Internet were around basic data…how
do you represent a number； how do you organize files； how do you display and store
content； and how do you share and exchange information。 That was the Netscape phase。
Now a whole new set of standards is emerging to enable work flow。 These are standards
about how we do business work together。 For example； when you apply for a mortgage；
go to your closing； or buy a house； there are literally dozens of processes and data
flows among many different companies。 One bank may handle securing your approval；
checking your credit； establishing your interest rates； and handling the
closing…after which the loan almost immediately is sold to a different bank。〃
The next level of standards； added Cawley； will be about automating all these
processes； so they flow even more seamlessly together and can stimulate even more
standards。 We are already seeing standards emerging around payroll； e…commerce
payment； and risk profiling； around how music and photos are digitally edited； and；
most important； around how supply chains are connected。 All of these standards； on
top of the work flow software； help enable work to be broken apart； reassembled； and
made to flow； without friction； back and forth between the most efficient producers。
The diversity of applications that will automatically be able to interact with each
other will be limited only by our imaginations。
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The gains in productivity from this could be bigger than anything we have ever seen
before。
〃Work flow platforms are enabling us to do for the service industry what Henry Ford
did for manufacturing；〃 said Jerry Rao； the entrepreneur doing accounting work for
Americans from India。 〃We are taking apart each task and sending it around to whomever
can do it best； and because we are doing it in a virtual environment； people need
not be physically adjacent to each other； and then we are reassembling all the pieces
back together at headquarters ＇or some other remote site＇。 This is not a trivial
revolution。 This is a major one。 It allows for a boss to be somewhere and his employees
to be someplace else。〃 These work flow software platforms； Jerry added； 〃enable you
to create virtual global offices…not limited by either the boundaries of your office
or your country…and to access talent sitting in different parts of the world and have
them complete tasks that you need completed in real time。 And so 24/7/365 we are all
working。 And all this has happened in the twinkling of an eye…the span of the last
two or three years。〃
Genesis： The Flat World Platform Emerges
We need to stop here and take stock； because at this point…the mid…1990s…the platform
for the flattening of the world has started to emerge。 First； the falling walls； the
opening of Windows； the digitization of content； and the spreading of the Internet
browser seamlessly connected people with people as never before。 Then work flow
software seamlessly connected applications to applications； so that people could
manipulate all their digitized content； using computers and the Internet； as never
before。 When you add this unprecedented new level of people…to…people communication
to all these Web…based application…to…application work flow programs； you end up with
a whole new global platform for multiple forms of collaboration。 This is the Genesis
moment for the flattening of the world。 This is when it started to take shape。 It
would take more time to converge and really become flat； but this is the moment when
people started to feel that something was changing。 Suddenly more people from
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more different places found that they could collaborate with more other people on
more different kinds of work and share more different kinds of knowledge than ever
before。 〃It is the creation of this platform； with these unique attributes； that is
the truly important sustainable breakthrough that made what you call the flattening
of the world possible；〃 said Microsoft's
