Globalization - Handle With Care

Any organization that conducts business on a global basis has to be concerned about war, terrorism, tariffs, regulations, and bone-headed politicians.

From Edge Perspectives, Fragility of Globalization, John Hagel writes, "...warnings for those of us who take globalization for granted. Make no mistake about it: globalization is a fragile process - there is nothing inevitable about it. As it unfolds, it deeply threatens entrenched economic and political interests. Those interests may spark a backlash and we may well find ourselves thrust back into a much more protectionist era."

John Hagel has set me back on my heels. I never thought much about the "fragility of globalization". I've been doing the Washington read on things like "The Flat World" from Tom Friedman and I believe he says something like, no 'N' countries will ever go to war if they're partners in the same supply chain. What's more, I get caught up in the bloggy clouds and believe the momentum for globalization is full steam ahead without interruption. I need to zoom-out and look at the big picture.

Anyway, Mr. Hagel continues that "... the talent market is having a profound impact on reshaping both the economic and political landscape of the world." Which leads me to this next piece where a goup of people are helping to educate others.   We strongly believe that ideas can come from EVERYWHERE; the initiative with the Uganda Digital Bookmobile is exciting and should be supported by all of us.

Tech in the Developing World: Boon or Bane?, By Richard Koman for SiliconValleyWatcher. "I spent six weeks in the fall of '03 and a few more weeks last summer in Uganda working on a project called the Uganda Digital Bookmobile, in which a van loaded with office technology visited rural schools and printed out public domain books. (It was a spinoff of the Internet Archive's supercool Internet Bookmobile project.)"

Mr. Koman will be talking about it at the Berkeley Cybersalon next week."The topic of the talk is "Technology and the Developing World: Boon or Bane?" Lee Felsenstein, inventor of the first portable computer, and Eric Brewer, cofounder of Inktomi, will also be on the panel."

I wish I could attend to learn more about what Lee Felsenstein is up to. You know, he invented the first portable computer.  It would be sooo cool to learn what this great, innovative group has been working on firsthand.