the.world.is.flat-第48章
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story and share one of my favorite television commercials。
The story took place in March 2004。 I had made plans to fly from Baltimore to Hartford
on Southwest Airlines to visit my daughter Orly； who goes to school in New Haven；
Connecticut。 Being a tech…sawy guy； I didn't bother with a paper ticket but ordered
an e…ticketthrough American Express。 As anyone who flies regularly on Southwest knows；
the cheapo airline has no reserved seats。 When you check in； your ticket says simply
A； B； or C； with the As boarding first； the Bs boarding second； and the Cs boarding
last。 As veterans of Southwest also know； you do not want to be a C。 If you are； you
will almost certainly end up in a middle seat with no space to put your carry…ons
in the overhead bin。 If you want to sit in a window or aisle seat and be able to store
your stuff； you want to be an A。 Since I was carrying some bags of clothing for my
daughter； I definitely wanted to be an A。 So I got up early to make sure I got to
the Baltimore airport ninety…five minutes before my scheduled departure。 I walked
up to the Southwest Airlines e…ticket machine； stuck in my credit card； and used the
touch screen to get my ticket…a thoroughly modern man； right？ Well； out came the ticket
and it said B。
I was fuming。 〃How in the world could I be a B？〃 I said to myself； looking at my watch。
〃There is no way that many people got here before me。 This thing is rigged！ This is
fixed！ This is nothing more than a slot machine！〃
I stomped off； went through security； bought a Cinnabon； and glumly sat at the back
of the B line； waiting to be herded on board so I could hunt for space in the overhead
bins。 Forty minutes later； the flight was called。 From the B line； I enviously watched
all the As file on board ahead of me； with a certain barely detectable air of
superiority。 And then I saw it。
Many of the people in the A line didn't have normal e…tickets like mine。 They were
just carrying what looked to me like crumpled pieces of white printer paper； but they
weren't blank。 They had boarding passes and bar codes printed on them； as if the As
had downloaded their boarding passes off the Internet at home and printed them out
on their home printers。 Which； I quickly learned； was exactly what they had done。
I didn't know it； but Southwest had recently announced that beginning at 12：01 a。m。
the night before a flight； you could download your ticket at home； print it out； and
then just have the bar code scanned by the gate agent before you boarded。
〃Friedman；〃 I said to myself； looking at this scene； 〃you are so twentieth…century 。 。 。
You are so Globalization 2。0。〃 In Globalization 1。0 there was a ticket agent。 In
Globalization 2。0 the e…ticket machine replaced the ticket agent。 In Globalization
3。0 you are your own ticket agent。
The television commercial is from Konica Minolta Business Technologies for a new
multipurpose device it sells called bizhub； a piece of office machinery that allows
you to do black…and…white or color printing； copy a document； fax it； scan it； scan
it to e…mail； or Internet…fax it…all from the same machine。 The commercial begins
with a rapid cutting back and forth between two guys； one in his office and the other
standing at the bizhub machine。 They are close enough to talk by raising their voices。
Dom is senior in authority but slow on the uptake…the kind of guy who hasn't kept
up with changing technology （my kind of guy！）。 He can see Ted standing at the bizhub
machine when he leans back in his chair and peers out his office doorway。
Dom： （At his desk） Hey； I need that chart。 Ted： （At the bizhub） I'm e…mailing it now。
175
Dom： You're e…mailing from the copy machine？
Ted： No； I'm e…mailing from bizhub。
Dom： Bizhub？ Wait； did you make my copies yet？
Ted： Right after I scan this。
Dom： You're scanning at an e…mail machine？
Ted： E…mail machine？ I'm at the bizhub machine。
Dom： （Bewildered） Copying？
Ted： （Trying to be patient） E…mailing； then scanning； then copying。
Dom： （Long pause） Bizhub？
VO： （Over an animated graphic of bizhub illustrating its multiple functions） Amazing
versatility and affordable color。 That's bizhub； from Konica Minolta。
（Cut to Dom alone at the bizhub machine； trying to see if it will also dispense coffee
into his mug。）
Southwest was able to offer its at…home ticketing； and Konica Minolta could offer
bizhub； because of what I call the triple convergence。 What are the components of
this triple convergence？ The short answer is this： First； right around the year 2000；
all ten of the flatteners discussed in the previous chapter started to converge and
work together in ways that created a new； flatter； global playing field。 As this new
playing field became established； both businesses and individuals began to adopt new
habits； skills； and processes to get the most out of it。 They moved from largely
vertical means of creating value to more horizontal ones。 The merger of this new
playing field for doing business with the new ways of doing business was the second
convergence； and it actually helped to flatten the world even further。 Finally； just
when all of this flattening was happening； a whole new group of people； several billion；
in fact； walked out onto the playing field from China； India； and the former Soviet
Empire。 Thanks to the new flat world； and its new tools； some of them were quickly
able to collaborate and compete directly with everyone else。 This was the third
convergence。 Now let's look at each in detail。
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Convergence I
All ten flatteners discussed in the previous chapter have been around； we know； since
the 1990s； if not earlier。 But they had to spread and take root and connect with one
another to work their magic on the world。 For instance； at some point around 2003；
Southwest Airlines realized that there were enough PCs around； enough bandwidth；
enough computer storage； enough Internet…comfortable customers； and enough software
know…how for Southwest to create a work flow system that empowered its customers to
download and print out their own boarding passes at home； as easily as downloading
a piece of e…mail。 Southwest could collaborate with its customers and they with
Southwest in a new way。 And somewhere around the same time； the work flow software
and hardware converged in a way that enabled Konica Minolta to offer scanning；
e…mailing； printing； faxing； and copying all from the same machine。 This is the first
convergence。
As Stanford University economist Paul Romer pointed out； economists have known for
a long time that 〃there are goods that are complementary…whereby good A is a lot more
valuable if you also have good B。 It was good to have paper and then it was good to
have pencils； and soon as you got more of one you got more of the other； and as you
got a better quality of one and better quality of the other； your productivity improved。
This is known as the simultaneous improvement of complementary goods。〃
It is my contention that the opening of the Berlin Wall； Netscape； work flow；
outsourcing； offshoring； open…sourcing； insourcing； supply…chaining； in…forming；
and the steroids amplifying them all reinforced one another； like complementary goods。
They just needed time to converge and start to work together in a complementary；
mutually enhancing fashion。 That tipping point arrived sometime around the year 2000。
The net result of this convergence was the creation of a global； Web…enabled playing
field that allows for multiple forms of collaboration…the sharing of knowledge and
work…in real time； without regard to geography； distance； or； in the near future；
even language。 No； not everyone has access yet to this platform； this playing field；
but it is open today to more people in more places on more days in more ways than
anything like it ever before
in the history of the world。 This is what I mean when I say the world has been flattened。
It is the complementary convergence of the ten flatteners； creating this new global
playing field for multiple forms of collaboration。
Convergence II
Great； you say； but why is it only in the pas
