Today I found a lecture of Thomas Friedman on the MIT OpenCourseWare site. You can download the speech about his latest book “The world is flat” at iTunes U, check it out. Thanks to the MIT for sharing this lecture with the whole world… so is Chris Anderson right and we are in the age of free economy?

Related posts:
2008 Globalization Ranking
Isn’t the world a great place?

What changed in the field of social globalization? Here is the set of variables and their weight:
1. Data on Personal Contact (30%)
Outgoing Telephone Traffic (13%)
Transfers (percent of GDP) (6%)
International Tourism (28%)
Foreign Population (percent of total population) (26%)
International letters (per capita) (28%)
2. Data on Information Flows (35%)
Internet Users (per 1000 people) (25%)
Cable Television (per 1000 people) (25%)
Trade in Newspapers (percent of GDP) (21%)
Radios (per 1000 people) (29%)
3. Data on Cultural Proximity (35%)
Number of McDonald’s Restaurants (per capita) (40%)
Number of Ikea (per capita) (41%)
Trade in books (percent of GDP) (19%)

Could it be that Web 2.0 is the reason for the stagnation? Skype and other VOIP and messaging services are influencing the outgoing phone calls and the international letters, which represents more then the half of the first set. RSS, Podcasts, YouTube and video on demand services are affecting every variable in the second set. In the third set the trade in books could be influenced by creative commons and ebooks.

I don’t have time to check all the data in detail, but I think it would be interesting to look at the facts.
Detailed 2008 Globalization Ranking
Globalization ranking variables and weights

If you are looking for more information about globalization, go and buy Thomas Friedman’s – The world is flat or The lexus and the olive tree. Two of my most favorite books about globalization even I don’t agree with Thomas Friedman in all the points, I like his way of storytelling and the financial perspective of his explanations.