Maybe the World is Flat
I’ve been reading Thomas L. Friedman’s ‘The World is Flat’, which discusses how globalization, technology and education have flattened the world. International competition for jobs will continue to escalate and individuals and businesses will have to respond to survive. Fascinating stuff, but sometimes I don’t really apply these ideas to how that might affect Tom and me and our business. Today I received two emails that changed my mind.
We sent our fuse May 05 e-letter issue out a week or so ago and we’ve received notes and calls from friends and clients with positive feedback, always a very good thing. Today I received an email from a friend in Russia (some of you met Daria when she visited last summer) thanking us for the e-letter because she felt connected to us but also because she will use it to help her improve her English! She is a successful attorney and she’s using our e-letter to improve her ability to communicate on an international level. Yikes, I’ll have to watch my grammer and spelling more carefully.
The next email was from Australia and a man that works for the platform server we use to process our e-letters. He said they really like the design of our e-letter, could they use it as an example of good design in their gallery and offer our web site link to their clients and viewers of their blog.
Suddenly we have our name and business information being used internationally, viewed by friends and strangers, at a much larger scope than we had imagined. I’ve always believed in the power of the web, but now I am an even bigger advocate. The world is getting flat, technology has integrated our lives, and you never know when someone will reach out from places you’ve only dreamed of visiting to recognize your work, maybe even collaborate with you. Opportunities are endless. Maybe the more we work together the better care we take of each other and our world. I know that’s pretty idealistic, but this morning, that’s how I feel…the world is a beautiful place.