Flatness

What is Flatness?
Since this project focuses on the "flatness" of the world, I should mention how mobile devices have helped to make the world "flatter", according to Friedman's "The World is Flat", that is to say how the technology has bridged gaps and broken old barriers to global competition. Mobile technologies by themselves have made it possible to communicate with anyone who has a phone, anywhere they are. With the advent of satellite phones, it is possible to communicate with anyone anywhere on the world's surface, where it is impossible to run landlines or the infrastructure doesn't exist. With the integration of the internet and all its technologies, there are many new ways to communicate, like over Facebook, text messaging, or instant messaging. It is also possible to do business from your mobile device, such as preparing a shipment order or updating your inventory while on a business trip. A world that fully embraces mobile technology will be one where people aren't tethered to physical infrastructure to do business. A good example of the flattening properties of mobility is long-distance calling. As you can see on the chart, more users of long-distance calling are using the service on cellphones. The blue line indicates the percentage of international long-distance calls where the person being called is on a landline, the green line indicates the percentage of said calls that start with a landline, while the red line indicates the percentage of said calls where the callee is on a mobile, and the yellow line indicates the percentage of said calls where the callee is on a mobile. As you can see, landline usage on both fronts has come down significantly (-25% over 8 years) while mobile usage has gone up (+25% over 8 years). This serves to make the world flatter by allowing people that live in countries or areas where there is no landline infrastructure to connect with people over long-distance calling.