Module 1

            Ryan Williams

            Lasting between 1492, when Columbus set sail, to around 1800, globalization 1.0 was the globalization of countries. The era was about bringing the world together by connecting the countries. Globalization 2.0 was from around 1800 to 2000 and was about the globalization of companies. Companies were trying to expand out of one place to many places so many people would interact with their companies beginning with the World Wide Web. Globalization 3.0 is the era from 2000 to now and is about individuals being able to collaborate and compete on a global scale. Each new globalization era is shrinking the world more and more. The first globalization era started with countries being able to connect shrinking down to companies to be able to connect down to the current globalization era where individuals are able to connect.

What did the fall of the Berlin Wall mean to Friedman?

            For some, the fall of the Berlin Wall “unleased forces that ultimately liberated all the captive peoples of the Soviet Empire.” For Friedman though, it meant more than that to him it tipped the balance of power around the world. The power went towards those who wanted a government that was democratic and free-market-oriented and not towards a government with an authoritarian rule.

            Netscape was the beginning of easier global connectivity.  Others browsers had been invented that could be used to browse the internet, but they were meant for people who knew how to use them, that is why Netscape was so important because it made it a browser so simple that it “made the Internet accessible to everyone from five-year-olds to ninety-five-year-olds.” When people found how to use the Internet, they wanted it to be able to do more and more things. This would not have happened without Netscape creating a browser that made it easier to browse for information on the Internet.

            When I first started this reading, it was pretty slow. The further I got into it, the more interested I became in it and the faster I was able to read. Some people can write so well that they are able to grab your attention and keep it throughout the whole text and I think that Thomas Friedman was able to accomplish this. This reading was also able to keep me interested because I like to learn about history and computers and whatnot and  the fact that this part that we read was about history and computers made it more interesting for me to read.