I agree that the world is getting flatter. I honestly think that it is much worse in kids a few years younger than us though. Kids in late elementary school and middle school. My sister is a prime example. She comes home from school and goes straight downstairs to the computer where she sits and chats with all her friends that she just left from school, on AIM and myspace. She gives our computer viruses and makes it slower because she leaves myspace up all the time. It really annoys me, so I'm glad I have a laptop, but nonetheless, it is a problem.

Flattening your personality.

By now most of us can agree that the world is in fact flatter than we thought it was. As the final touches are placed in the platform of globalization we are forced to interact with different people and learn different things. I am originally from Guatemala, so I know about different cultural settings and growing up in a different type of government and economy. I didn't have much trouble adapting to the U.S., but me being a child then does not compare to what an adult has to go through in order to assimilate. As companies begin to flatten they interact with the world, this interaction can bring culture clashes. When a business interacts on a worldwide basis, someone has to leave behind certain cultural attributes to get rid of friction that may slow down production.

How much are you willing to give up, identity and rights, in order to keep up with globalization and your job?

globalization in my hometown

Since I'm from a small town in rural Virginia, I have never really noticed a lot of globalization. All of the homes still have dial-up Internet connections if any at all. A lot of houses do not even have satellite TV, they still rely on an antenna that sits on top of the house. My family just got wireless this fall and we did not get more than 5 channels until 1997. There is no diversity in my town and if you do not speak English then you can not get a job. I am sure globalization has affected business in the town but as of right now I am not sure how.

Has anyone else seen the effects of globalization in their hometowns?

The Democracy of Blogging

Jessica Cutler, of Washingtonienne fame, thinks blogs are “the most democratic thing ever,” and she’s right. You don’t have to have a journalism degree to publish your own blog, and you don’t have to buy a newspaper or magazine to read them. You don’t even have to have your own computer and Internet connection. Just waltz in to your local library and read the blogs that interest you. Blogging gives everyone a chance to be an author, no matter who you are or where you live.

You don’t have to be a particularly gifted author, either. The very nature of blogging allows writers to suspend the rules of composition, and to attract attention, bloggers often put good manners aside, hurl insults, make accusations, and stir up controversy. If they happen to be wrong in what they say, it’s okay. It’s tough to get a libel charge leveled against a blogger, and besides, the offended party can simply set up his or her own blog and return the insults.

Is this a model of democracy that Americans should celebrate and export around the world? Or is this merely the yammerings of an unruly mob who have exploited the freedoms that democracy should protect?

J.