Sunday, November 25, 2012
TWIF Flattener 10 - The Steroids
Use one of the current events sources linked at http://mrsfridaysclass.wikispaces.com/Current+Events to find a recent news article that relates to, supports, or refutes Friedman's assertion that the steroids were "flatteners." Your comment should include the title of the news article, a link to the article, and a summary of the article including an explanation of how the article relates to this point. Don't forget to check your rubric for evaluation criteria!
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Making Your Business Social
ReplyDeletehttp://www.guardian.co.uk/guardian-masterclasses/social-media-business-course?INTCMP=MASARCTRRH283
When Friedman explains what a steroid is he tells the reader that they are the new advances in technology. Some examples shown in the book are instant messaging, computing, and video graphics. Since technology moves at a rapid rate there are things that one can add to the list of steroids. For instance, social networking sites could be added to list. Facebook and Twitter are the most common social networking sites used by society. Companies realize the value that these sites have because they reach out to more people and inform the consumer on the product. In the article, "Making Your Business Social," it explains that the positives of adding ones business to a social networking site is a great investment.
How Cellphones Helped Researchers Track Malaria In Kenya
ReplyDeletehttp://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/10/10/162643881/how-cellphones-helped-researchers-track-malaria-in-kenya
In "The World is Flat," Friedman illustrates how wireless technology supercharges globalization in the process of creating a "flatter" world. Kenya fights to control outbreaks of malaria due to large populations of disease carrying flies. Furthermore, to help protect Kenyans, researchers utilized cell phone data, over 90 percent of the population has cell phones, to link areas where malaria is prevalent to the source, an adulterated fly. The Harvard researchers have marked places of extreme potency for government officials to take action. Additionally, it is envisioned that a program will be developed to alert Kenyans when they arrive in an area where the disease is particularly concentrated. Likewise, a similar method was enacted in Haiti to predict outbreaks of cholera. A researcher at the University of Miami, Douglas Fuller, agrees with Friedman's belief in the power of wireless technologies: "People have known about the potential of using cell phones but haven't tapped into it. The sheer volume of this [cell phone] data is quite remarkable." Similarly, Friedman explains that wireless technology is a steroid, aiding in the "flattening" of the world. Furthermore, Friedman depicts how wireless technology allows people to access data and information from anywhere. Also, wireless devices enable people to "manipulate, share, and shape our digital content from anywhere, with anyone, totally mobilely"(194). As Friedman predicted, wireless technology has revolutionized society-- resulting in advanced healthcare for impoverished countries.
Welcome to the thingternet
ReplyDeletehttp://www.economist.com/news/21566428-things-rather-people-are-about-become-biggest-users-internet-welcome
This article talks about the “internet of things” as a new reality, or as Friedman would have said it’s the internet on steroids. Not only are people now connected via the internet, so are our things. Everything from household appliances, cars, pets, toys, and medical implants are sharing information with the internet via smart chips. In 2013, over 1 billion things (not including smartphones, tablets, and PCs) will be connected to the internet to be monitored. By 2020 it is expected to climb to 27 billion objects connected wirelessly, and double every 5 years after. These innovations will make it easier to anticipate repairs or service needed to an item, find a lost item quickly, or operate an appliance, or one day an assembly line, remotely from another country. A “steroid” such as this, having things connect to the internet, will flatten the world even more. Not only will people be able to interact across continents, so will things, which will amplify the uses of the internet for outsourcing, offshoring, uploading, supply-chaining, insourcing, and in-forming. This meets Friedman's definition of a "steroid".
Digital Age Prompting Closure of Base Theaters
ReplyDeletehttp://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/digital-age-prompting-closure-base-theaters-18262330
Stacey Darling and her family love to go to second-run base films at Ellsworth Air Force Base theater in South Dakota. Since the inclination of downloading digital movies to watch in your own living room going to base theaters, and all movie theaters, has declined. This article relates to "The World Is Flat" when Friedman discusses digital in flattener #10. He talks about how it is becoming a necessity and easy to stay at home and download things. This is good for personal people because it is more convenient for the consumer to not have to leave the house. But means business' like the Ellsworth Air Force Base movie theatre will not have as much intake. This will contribute to the world flattening.
Wireless Learning: How Modile Technology is Transforming Classrooms and Empowering Young Women in Jordan
ReplyDeletehttp://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2012/07/18/wireless-learning-how-mobile-technology-is-transforming-classrooms-and-empowering-young-women-in-jordan/
The tenth flattener in The World is Flat explains the different "steroids" that aided in flattening the earth. One of these "steroids" in particular included the "wireless steroid", which allowed people to edit digital content anywhere at any time. The article explains how schools globally are able to use wireless technology to aid in their teaching and students learning. With mobile technology, students in under-priviledged regions of the world are able to use Netbooks to go on the Internet and take advantage of educational resources. Also, the article discusses how children with hearing problems benefit from wireless tecnology. This article relates to Friedman's flattener because now, students in less fortunate communities are able to use wireless Internet to learn new material in school, which contributes to the flattening of the world.
Magazine Staff Produces Entire Issue From Home
ReplyDeletehttp://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125630815
In The World is Flat Friedman discussed many different "steroids." These steroids were new technologies that amplified all the other flatteners. This transcript from NPR proves that the "steroids" are effectively enabling employees of a magazine to create an entire magazine without leaving their home. The staff collaborated through means of e-mail, Skype, and instant messaging. The second steroid was all about the breakthroughs in instant messaging and file sharing. The third steroid was about the breakthroughs in making phone calls over the internet. Without either of these steroids, the magazine would not have been able to been created from the comforts of the employees homes'. Towards the beginning of the tenth flattener, Friedman includes the definition of digital. Digital means that the content of media can be transmitted through the internet to other computers. Jane Berentson, the editor of the magazine, explains that without all the virtual help, the magazine could not have been produced in time. She explains that with the wireless technology of today, it was easy to transfer files. This supports Friedman's tenth flattener because the magazine staff was able to create a magazine using the "steroids" from his flattener.
Social Media Craze Increasing Girl Scout Cookie Sales
ReplyDeletehttp://crystallake.patch.com/articles/social-media-craze-increasing-girl-scout-cookie-sales-eac40e4f
In his book, Friedman discusses steroids, or components that strengthen each one of the flatteners. In recent years Girl Scout Cookie sales have seemed to be on steroids. Thanks to social media such as Twitter and Facebook the news can spread about who is selling cookies and who is interested in buying. A Cookie Locator app has even been developed to help a customer find a cookie booth close to them. This is just a minor example of today's technology being used as steroids on a thing such as the sale of Girl Scout Cookies.
Smart Phones Become Life's Remote Control
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/12/technology/smartphones-can-now-run-consumers-lives.html?_r=0
This article has to do with how mobile apps in smart phones can now run our lives. They can now turn off lights in the house, unlock the front door, and take a reading of one's blood pressure. These apps have made it possible for individuals to connect to just about anything. This is because people never put down their smart phones, plus wireless sensors are smaller and cheaper. These apps are examples of progress being made in technology. Not everyone uses them for everything, but people also did not get the idea of the remote when they could just get up and change the channel. This correlates to Friedman's "steroids" because these apps are enhancing human living. The steroids enhance the other flatteners, for example, now people can go on the internet at any time with a smart phone. These apps are up to the point that most things can be done with them on a smart phone. This will make it more efficient to perform tasks and this will improve even more going into the future.
Smart refrigerator runs apps for shopping lists, recipes
ReplyDeletehttp://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/21/us-app-refrigerator-idUSBRE90K0PX20130121
The article shows how a refrigerator has a monitor that has wifi and can run apps. The apps help with looking up recipes, take notes, look up food things, and many more. This is like the flattener steroids because it is very enhanced and can make lives easier.
How to 'tether' your PC to your phone
ReplyDeletehttp://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Tech/2012/1225/How-to-tether-your-PC-to-your-phone?nav=93-csm_category-storyList
The tenth flattener in the World is Flat are devices that accelerate the speed at which the other flatteners flatten the world. In the book Friedman uses social media as an example. As years pass on technology speeds up at a remarkable rate. The article shows how someone with a smartphone such as an iPhone are able to connect with their computers. This flattens the world because it not only allows people to connect to the internet using phones but also to do anything they could at home on their computers. This remarkable new software allows people to do work on the move anywhere and be extremely mobile.
San Antonio Plans one of the Nation's First Bookless Libraries
ReplyDeletehttp://www.csmonitor.com/Books/chapter-and-verse/2013/0121/San-Antonio-plans-one-of-the-nation-s-first-bookless-libraries
This article is about a plan to build a completely bookless library in San Antonio. The library will have computers, Tablets and e-readers, but it will have no paper books. In the steroids flattener, Friedman talks about file sharing. This library will be used to share files that are entire books. This could speed up the process at which technology takes over and paper books are nearly usless.
Supercomputing's new world order
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/innovation/11/22/sc10.supercomputing/index.html?iref=allsearch
This article is about how powerful computers can be, what they are used for, what special components they have, exactly how incredibly powerful they are, and how powerful they want to be in just ten years. This article relates to the "steroids" because computing power is one of them, and it shows just how powerful we are now as compared to only a few decades ago.