the.world.is.flat-第16章

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possible。　It　includes　newer　tools；　like　XML　and　SOAP；　which　enabled　Web　applications　
to　communicate　with　each　other　more　seamlessly；　and　it　includes　software　agents　known　
as　middleware；　which　serves　as　an　intermediary　between　wildly　diverse　applications。　
The　nexus　of　these　technologies　has　been　a　huge　boon　to　innovation　and　a　huge　reducer　
of　friction　between　companies　and　applications。　Instead　of　everyone　trying　to　control　
the　fire　hydrant　nozzle；　they　made　all　the　nozzles　and　hoses　the　same；　creating　a　
much　bigger　market　that　stretched　across　every　neighborhood　of　the　world。　Then　
companies　started　to　compete　instead　over　the　quality　of　the　hose；　the　pump；　and　the　
fire　truck。　That　is；　they　competed　over　who　could　make　the　most　useful　and　nifty　
applications。　Said　Joel　Cawley；　the　head　of　IBM's　strategic　planning　unit；　〃Standards　
don't　eliminate　innovation；　they　just　allow　you　to　focus　it。　They　allow　you　to　focus　
on　where　the　real　value　lies；　which　is　usually　everything　you　can　add　above　and　around　
the　standard。〃　
I　found　this　out　writing　my　last　book。　Once　Microsoft　Word　got　established　as　the　
global　standard；　work　could　flow　between　people　on　different　continents　much　more　
easily；　because　we　were　all　writing　off　the　same　screen　with　the　same　basic　toolbar。　
When　I　was　working　on　my　first　book；　From　Beirut　to　Jerusalem；　in　1988；1　spent　part　
of　my　year's　leave　in　
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the　Middle　East　and　had　to　take　notes　with　pen　and　paper；　as　it　was　the　pre…laptop　


and　pre…Microsoft　Word　era。　When　I　wrote　my　second　book；　The　Lexus　and　the　Olive　Tree；　
in　1998；　I　had　to　do　some　of　the　last…minute　editing　from　the　computer　behind　the　
front　desk　at　a　Swiss　hotel　in　Davos　on　a　German　version　of　Microsoft　Word。　I　could　
not　understand　a　single　word；　a　single　command　function；　on　the　toolbar　of　the　German　
version　of　Word。　But　by　1998；　I　was　so　familiar　with　the　Word　for　Windows　writing　
program；　and　where　the　various　on…screen　icons　were；　that　I　was　able　to　point　and　
click　my　way　through　the　editing　on　the　German　version　and　type　my　corrections　with　
the　English　letters　on　the　German　keyboard。　Shared　standards　are　a　huge　flattener；　
because　they　both　force　and　empower　more　people　to　communicate　and　innovate　over　much　
wider　platforms。　
Another　of　my　favorite　examples　of　this　is　PayPal；　which　enabled　eBay's　e…commerce　
bazaar　to　become　what　it　is　today。　PayPal　is　a　money　transfer　system　founded　in　1998　
to　facilitate　C2C　（customer…to…customer）　transactions；　like　a　buyer　and　seller　
brought　together　by　eBay。　According　to　the　Web　site　ecommerce…guide。com；　using　PayPal；　
anyone　with　an　e…mail　address　can　send　money　to　anyone　else　with　an　e…mail　address；　
whether　the　recipient　has　a　PayPal　account　or　not。　PayPal　doesn't　even　care　whether　
a　commercial　transaction　is　taking　place。　If　someone　in　the　office　is　organizing　a　
party　for　someone　else　and　everyone　needs　to　chip　in；　they　can　all　do　it　using　PayPal。　
In　fact；　the　organizer　can　send　everyone　PayPal　reminders　by　e…mail　with　clear　
instructions　as　to　how　to　pay　up。　PayPal　can　accept　money　from　the　purchaser　in　one　
of　three　ways；　notes　ecommerce…guide。com：　charging　the　purchaser's　credit　card　for　
any　transactions　（payments）；　debiting　a　checking　account　for　any　payments；　or　
deducting　payments　from　a　PayPal　account　established　with　a　personal　check。　Payment　
recipients　can　use　the　money　in　their　account　for　online　purchases　or　payments；　can　
receive　the　payment　from　PayPal　by　check；　or　can　have　PayPal　directly　deposit　the　
money　into　a　checking　account。　Setting　up　a　PayPal　account　is　simple。　As　a　payer；　
all　you　have　to　do　is　to　provide　your　name；　your　e…mail　address；　your　credit　card　
information；　and　your　billing　address　for　your　credit　card。　
All　of　these　interoperable　banking　and　e…commerce　functions　flat

tened　the　Internet　marketplace　so　radically　that　even　eBay　was　taken　by　surprise。　
Before　PayPal；　explained　eBay　CEO　Meg　Whitman；　〃If　I　did　business　on　eBay　in　1999；　
the　only　way　I　could　pay　you　as　a　buyer　was　with　a　check　or　money　order；　a　paper…based　
system。　There　was　no　electronic　way　to　send　money；　and　you　were　too　small　a　merchant　
to　qualify　for　a　credit　card　account。　What　PayPal　did　was　enable　people；　individuals；　
to　accept　credit　cards。　I　could　pay　you　as　an　individual　seller　on　eBay　with　a　credit　
card。　This　really　leveled　the　playing　field　and　made　commerce　more　frictionless。〃　
In　fact；　it　was　so　good　that　eBay　bought　PayPal；　but　not　on　the　recommendation　of　
its　Wall　Street　investment　bankers…　on　the　recommendation　of　its　users。　
〃We　woke　up　one　day；〃　said　Whitman；　〃and　found　out　that　20　percent　of　the　people　on　
eBay　were　saying；　'I　accept　PayPal；　please　pay　me　that　way。'　And　we　said；　'Who　are　
these　people　and　what　are　they　doing？'　At　first　we　tried　to　fight　them　and　launched　
our　own　service；　called　Billpoint。　Finally；　in　July　2002；　we　were　at　＇an＇　eBay　Live　
＇convention＇　and　the　drumbeat　through　the　hall　was　deafening。　Our　community　was　


telling　us；　'Would　you　guys　stop　fighting？　We　want　a　standard…and　by　the　way；　we　have　
picked　the　standard　and　it's　called　PayPal；　and　we　know　you　guys　at　eBay　would　like　
it　to　be　your　＇standard＇；　but　it's　theirs。'　And　that　is　when　we　knew　we　had　to　buy　
the　company；　because　it　was　the　standard　and　it　was　not　ours。。。　It　is　the　best　
acquisition　we　ever　made。〃　
Here's　how　I　just　wrote　the　above　section：　I　transferred　my　notes　from　the　Meg　Whitman　
phone　interview　from　my　Dell　laptop　to　my　Dell　desktop；　then　fired　up　my　DSL　connection　
and　double…clicked　on　AOL；　where　I　used　Google　to　find　a　Web　site　that　could　explain　
PayPal；　which　directed　me　to　ecommerce…guide。com。　I　downloaded　the　definition　from　
the　ecommerce…guide。com　Web　site；　which　was　written　in　some　Internet　font　as　a　text　
file；　and　then　called　it　up　on　Microsoft　Word；　which　automatically　transformed　it　
into　a　Word　document；　which　I　could　then　use　to　write　this　section　on　my　desktop。　
That　is　also　work　flow！　And　what　is　most　important　about　it　is　not　that　I　have　these　
work　flow　tools；　it　is　how　many　people　in　India；　Russia；　China；　Brazil；　and　Timbuktu　
now　have　them　as　well…along　with　all　the　transmission　pipes　and　protocols　so　they　
too　can　plug　and　play　from　anywhere。　

Where　is　all　this　going？　More　and　more　work　flow　will　be　automated。　In　the　coming　
phase　of　Web　services…work　flow；　here　is　how　you　will　make　a　dentist　appointment：　
You　will　instruct　your　computer　by　voice　to　make　an　appointment。　Your　computer　will　
automatically　translate　your　voice　into　a　digital　instruction。　It　will　automatically　
check　your　calendar　against　the　available　dates　on　your　dentist's　calendar　and　offer　
you　three　choices。　You　will　click　on　the　preferred　date　and　hour。　The　week　before　
your　appointment；　your　dentist's　calendar　will　automatically　send　you　an　e…mail　
reminding　you　of　the　appointment。　The　night　before；　you　will　get　a　computer…generated　
voice　message　by　phone；　also　reminding　of　your　appointment。　
For　work　flow　to　reach　this　next　stage；　and　the　productivity　enhancements　it　will　
deliver；　〃we　need　more　and　more　common　standards；〃　said　IBM's　strategic　planner　Cawley。　
〃The　first　round　of　standards　to　emerge　with　the　Internet　were　around　basic　data…how　
do　you　represent　a　number；　how　do　you　organize　files；　how　do　you　display　and　store　
content；　and　how　do　you　share　and　exchange　information。　That　was　the　Netscape　phase。　
Now　a　whole　new　set　of　standards　is　emerging　to　enable　work　flow。　These　are　standards　
about　how　we　do　business　work　together。　For　example；　when　you　apply　for　a　mortgage；　
go　to　your　closing；　or　buy　a　house；　there　are　literally　dozens　of　processes　and　data　
flows　among　many　different　companies。　One　bank　may　handle　securing　your　approval；　
checking　your　credit；　establishing　your　interest　rates；　and　handling　the　
closing…after　which　the　loan　almost　immediately　is　sold　to　a　different　bank。〃　
The　next　level　of　standards；　added　Cawley；　will　be　about　automating　all　these　
processes；　so　they　flow　even　more　seamlessly　together　and　can　stimulate　even　more　
standards。　We　are　already　seeing　standards　emerging　around　payroll；　e…commerce　
payment；　and　risk　profiling；　around　how　music　and　photos　are　digitally　edited；　and；　
most　important；　around　how　supply　chains　are　connected。　All　of　these　standards；　on　
top　of　the　work　flow　software；　help　enable　work　to　be　broken　apart；　reassembled；　and　
made　to　flow；　without　friction；　back　and　forth　between　the　most　efficient　producers。　


The　diversity　of　applications　that　will　automatically　be　able　to　interact　with　each　
other　will　be　limited　only　by　our　imaginations。　
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The　gains　in　productivity　from　this　could　be　bigger　than　anything　we　have　ever　seen　
before。　
〃Work　flow　platforms　are　enabling　us　to　do　for　the　service　industry　what　Henry　Ford　
did　for　manufacturing；〃　said　Jerry　Rao；　the　entrepreneur　doing　accounting　work　for　
Americans　from　India。　〃We　are　taking　apart　each　task　and　sending　it　around　to　whomever　
can　do　it　best；　and　because　we　are　doing　it　in　a　virtual　environment；　people　need　
not　be　physically　adjacent　to　each　other；　and　then　we　are　reassembling　all　the　pieces　
back　together　at　headquarters　＇or　some　other　remote　site＇。　This　is　not　a　trivial　
revolution。　This　is　a　major　one。　It　allows　for　a　boss　to　be　somewhere　and　his　employees　
to　be　someplace　else。〃　These　work　flow　software　platforms；　Jerry　added；　〃enable　you　
to　create　virtual　global　offices…not　limited　by　either　the　boundaries　of　your　office　
or　your　country…and　to　access　talent　sitting　in　different　parts　of　the　world　and　have　
them　complete　tasks　that　you　need　completed　in　real　time。　And　so　24/7/365　we　are　all　
working。　And　all　this　has　happened　in　the　twinkling　of　an　eye…the　span　of　the　last　
two　or　three　years。〃　
Genesis：　The　Flat　World　Platform　Emerges　
We　need　to　stop　here　and　take　stock；　because　at　this　point…the　mid…1990s…the　platform　
for　the　flattening　of　the　world　has　started　to　emerge。　First；　the　falling　walls；　the　
opening　of　Windows；　the　digitization　of　content；　and　the　spreading　of　the　Internet　
browser　seamlessly　connected　people　with　people　as　never　before。　Then　work　flow　
software　seamlessly　connected　applications　to　applications；　so　that　people　could　
manipulate　all　their　digitized　content；　using　computers　and　the　Internet；　as　never　
before。　When　you　add　this　unprecedented　new　level　of　people…to…people　communication　
to　all　these　Web…based　application…to…application　work　flow　programs；　you　end　up　with　
a　whole　new　global　platform　for　multiple　forms　of　collaboration。　This　is　the　Genesis　
moment　for　the　flattening　of　the　world。　This　is　when　it　started　to　take　shape。　It　
would　take　more　time　to　converge　and　really　become　flat；　but　this　is　the　moment　when　
people　started　to　feel　that　something　was　changing。　Suddenly　more　people　from　
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more　different　places　found　that　they　could　collaborate　with　more　other　people　on　
more　different　kinds　of　work　and　share　more　different　kinds　of　knowledge　than　ever　
before。　〃It　is　the　creation　of　this　platform；　with　these　unique　attributes；　that　is　
the　truly　important　sustainable　breakthrough　that　made　what　you　call　the　flattening　
of　the　world　possible；〃　said　Microsof