the.world.is.flat-第17部分

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


fact　that　all　the　departments　within　your　company　were　seamlessly　interoperable　and　
that　work　could　flow　between　them　was　a　great　boost　to　productivity…but　this　could　
happen　only　if　all　your　company's　departments　were　using　the　same　software　and　
hardware　systems。　More　often　than　not；　back　in　the　1980s　and　early　1990s；　a　company's　
sales　department　was　running　Microsoft　and　the　inventory　department　was　running　
Novell；　and　they　could　not　communicate　with　each　other。　So　work　did　not　flow　as　easily　
as　it　should。　
We　often　forget　that　the　software　industry　started　out　like　a　bad　fire　department。　
Imagine　a　city　where　every　neighborhood　had　a　different　interface　for　connecting　the　
fire　hose　to　the　hydrant。　Everything　was　fine　as　long　as　your　neighborhood　fire　
department　could　handle　your　fire。　But　when　a　fire　became　too　big；　and　the　fire　engines　
from　the　next　neighborhood　had　to　be　called　in；　they　were　useless　because　they　could　
not　connect　their　hoses　to　your　hydrants。　
For　the　world　to　get　flat；　all　your　internal　departments…sales；　marketing；　
manufacturing；　billing；　and　inventory…had　to　become　interoperable；　no　matter　what　
machines　or　software　each　of　them　was　running。　And　for　the　world　to　get　really　flat；　
all　your　systems　had　to　be　interoperable　with　all　the　systems　of　any　other　company。　
That　is；　your　sales　department　had　to　be　connected　to　your　supplier's　inventory　
department　and　your　supplier's　inventory　department　had　to　be　seamlessly　connected　
to　its　supplier's　supplier；　which　was　a　factory　in　China。　That　way；　when　you　

made　a　sale；　an　item　was　automatically　shipped　from　your　supplier's　warehouse；　and　
another　item　was　automatically　manufactured　by　your　supplier's　supplier；　and　a　bill　
was　generated　from　your　billing　department。　The　disparate　computer　systems　and　
software　applications　of　three　distinctly　different　companies　had　to　be　seamlessly　
interoperable　so　that　work　could　flow　between　them。　
In　the　late　1990s；　the　software　industry　began　to　respond　to　what　its　consumers　wanted。　
Technology　companies；　through　much　backroom　wrangling　and　trial　and　error；　started　
to　forge　more　common　Web…based　standards；　more　integrated　digital　plumbing　and　
protocols；　so　that　anyone　could　fit　his　hose…his　software　applications…onto　anyone　
else's　hydrant。　
This　was　a　quiet　revolution。　Technically；　what　made　it　possible　was　the　development　
of　a　new　data　description　language；　called　XML；　and　its　related　transport　protocol；　
called　SOAP。　IBM；　Microsoft；　and　a　host　of　other　companies　contributed　to　the　
development　of　both　XML　and　SOAP；　and　both　were　subsequently　ratified　and　popularized　
as　the　Internet　standards。　XML　and　SOAP　created　the　technical　foundation　for　software　
program…to…software　program　interaction；　which　was　the　foundation　for　Web…enabled　
work　flow。　They　enabled　digitized　data；　words；　music；　and　photos　to　be　exchanged　
between　diverse　software　programs　so　that　they　could　be　shaped；　designed；　manipulated；　
edited；　reedited；　stored；　published；　and　transported…without　any　regard　to　where　
people　are　physically　sitting　or　what　computing　devices　they　are　connecting　through。　


Once　this　technical　foundation　was　in　place；　more　and　more　people　started　writing　
work　flow　software　programs　for　more　and　more　different　tasks。　Wild　Brain　wanted　
programs　to　make　animated　films　with　a　production　team　spread　out　around　the　world。　
Boeing　wanted　them　so　that　its　airplane　factories　in　America　could　constantly　resupply　
different　airline　customers　with　parts；　through　its　computer　ordering　systems；　no　
matter　what　country　those　orders　came　from。　Doctors　wanted　them　so　that　an　X…ray　taken　
in　Bangor　could　be　read　in　a　hospital　in　Bangalore；　without　the　doctor　in　Maine　ever　
having　to　think　about　what　computers　that　Indian　hospital　had。　And　Mom　and　Dad　wanted　
them　because　they　wanted　their　e…banking　software；　e…brokerage　software；　office　
e…mail；　and　
76　
spreadsheet　software　to　all　work　off　their　home　laptop　and　be　able　to　interface　with　
their　office　desktop。　And　once　everyone's　applications　started　to　connect　to　everyone　
else's　applications…which　took　several　years　and　lot　of　technology　and　brainpower　
to　make　happen…work　could　not　only　flow　like　never　before；　but　it　could　be　chopped　
up　and　disaggregated　like　never　before　and　sent　to　the　four　corners　of　the　world。　
This　meant　that　work　could　flow　anywhere。　Indeed；　it　was　the　ability　to　enable　
applications　to　speak　to　applications；　not　just　people　to　speak　to　people；　that　would　
soon　make　outsourcing　possible。　Thanks　to　different　kinds　of　Web　services…work　flow；　
said　Craig　Mundie；　Microsoft's　chief　technology　officer；　〃the　industry　created　a　
global　platform　for　a　global　workforce　of　people　and　computers。〃　
The　vast　network　of　underground　plumbing　that　made　it　possible　for　all　this　work　to　
flow　has　become　quite　extensive。　It　includes　all　the　Internet　protocols　of　the　
previous　era；　like　TCP/IP　and　others；　which　made　browsing　and　e…mail　and　Web　sites　
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　
77　
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