Just finished reading an outstanding book called The World is Flat – A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century (expanded 2006 version) by Thomas Friedman. As a web developer that came of age at the dawn of the web, I was impressed with how well he researched the effect technology has had on flattening the world in the last 10 years.

The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century
The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas L. Friedman

Friedman breaks economic globalization into three eras:

  • Globalization 1.0 (1492-1800) – Countries went global
  • Globalization 2.0 (1800-2000) – Companies went global
  • Globalization 3.0 (2000-now) – Individuals went global

We are now in an era where individuals no longer need their country or company to collaborate with individuals around the world. Just this weekend I was working on code with a fellow programmer in Bangalore, India. This kind of collaboration at the individual level was almost non-existent just a few years ago.

This book also covers topics such as free trade and outsourcing. It even gave me insight and ideas that I will use to guide my career in technology. If you push pixels for a living, you need to read this book.