Module 5

The triple convergence is a based on three ideas that further “flatten the world”. The first convergence can best be described as the ability for people near and far to communicate with each other instantly. If you had an internet connection, you could connect with anyone, anywhere, regardless of race, sex, education, or social status. The second convergence explains how businesses became “vertical” instead of “horizontal”. This means that instead of have chains of management- computers, advanced software and the internet allowed businesses to operate with fewer people, and on an even management field. Friedman again refers to Wal-Mart and how they designed a horizontal supply chain, with each link being even. The third convergence was the increase of global knowledge and global workforce. This happened when countries that were lacking in technological advances jumped feet first into modern technology. Friedman explains that some Chinese students skipped having a landline and went straight to a cell phone. These countries were hungry for education and started to advance over more modern countries like the US and various European countries. The triple convergence is important as it demonstrates how the world continued to become one in the terms of technology.

            Friedman describes a story about the state of Indiana who needed their computer systems updated. They received bids from numerous companies, (none of which being from Indiana) with a company from India winning the contract. In my opinion, Indiana was exploiting who ever won the contract. Later, Indiana was able to divide the contract into smaller contracts that companies within the state could fulfill. If Indiana was able to keep money and work within the state, then it should have been done from the beginning. Instead, they wrote the original bid in such a way that no one within the state could do it. No companies within the US were able to make the lowest bid, either. Indiana exploited the work of India to save money, instead of providing jobs to those within the state who were jobless.

            Intellectual property refers to the rights of an innovator of digital information. As more people contribute to online sharing, the idea of copyright laws becomes blurry. If someone uploads a video online, can anyone else alter the video? If the information has no legal protection, many would see it as fair game the change it and make it their own. The idea of intellectual property laws is to credit the original poster or innovator, but to allow others to make minor changes. Most digital information is accessed with the understanding that it can be used and possibly altered, as long as the original creator is credited. This concept works well with information such as open source software, photos, and clipart to name a few. Recently, the focus has been shifted to on how we should address copyrighted material such as major motion pictures, published authors and record producing musicians. While Hollywood, with the assistance of the government, wants to shut down all websites that might be breaking traditional copyright laws, websites such as Google and Wikipedia are protesting. These websites would be in violation of copyright laws due to the fact that anyone in the cyber community could post copyrighted material on their websites (or search engines). I do agree that there should be someway to regulate how information is disbursed online, (like how some DVD’s prevent the ability of  burning them to your hard drive, in turn preventing them from being uploaded) but at the same time, the internet was founded on the principal of free digital sharing. If we are no longer able to freely share this information, then the true concept of the internet has been lost.