Date: Thu, 9 Feb 2006 21:54:18 -0800 From: Norm Matloff To: Norm Matloff Subject: Silicon Valley loves Thomas Friedman To: H-1B/L-1/offshoring e-newsletter As many of you know, writer Thomas Friedman of the New York Times recently published a book, "The World Is Flat," extolling the virtues of globalization. Friedman has no qualifications to do such analysis other than a political inclination in favor of globalization. I made some comments on it in my e-newsletter posting, http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/Archive/TomFriedman.txt Friedman's book has become very popular. Recently I was shocked when a friend (not the one mentioned in my earlier posting) who is far removed from economics or tech but is nevertheless a careful thinker, raved to me about Friedman's book. Friedman had him totally convinced. I asked my friend to cite an argument of Friedman's that he thought especially cogent. He cited the Carrier Air Conditioner example, in which Friedman points to tech firms in India now buying AC units from Carrier. I then said, "Suppose this were to double Carrier's business. Would the number of engineers employed by Carrier double?" My friend conceded that no, Carrier probably wouldn't need any extra engineers to produce more units, and he got my point: We give up engineering jobs, which go to India, in return for what--MAYBE some more manufacturing jobs (though it would make sense to have them go to India too). We lose the jobs requiring greater levels of education, in return for gaining jobs which need less education, a bad trade by any measure. Such a common sense point, yet until I brought it up, he had been mesmerized by Friedman. Well, from the enclosed article it is clear that Silicon Valley executives know the power Friedman has over his readers, and decided to exploit it, using him as a PR vehicle, with him helping them sell their globalization agenda to the American public, Congress and the press. They even "trained" him first. Very sad. Norm Hot tech item: not gadget, but a bestseller 2/5/06 By Chris O'Brien San Jose Mercury News How obsessed has Silicon Valley become with ``The World Is Flat,'' the bestselling book about globalization? Ash Lilani, head of Silicon Valley Bank Global, not only read it, he bought 50 copies of the book by New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman as gifts for employees and colleagues. When Democratic gubernatorial candidate Steve Westly, a former eBay executive, isn't referring to the book on the campaign trail, he's giving out copies to friends and top supporters. The Silicon Valley Leadership Group, the business coalition, has stopped handing out copies of ``The HP Way'' to politicians and switched to ``Flat.'' The non-fiction book has become an unlikely national bestseller since it came out in April, and nowhere has it struck a deeper chord than in Silicon Valley, where Friedman has been embraced as a prophet. From public conferences to academic hallways, from cubicles to executive suites, Friedman's book has become a must-read among local workers, executives and others thinking about Silicon Valley's place in a changing world economy. Friedman's book examines how technology and free markets have leveled the playing field and allowed any individual or country to compete globally. The concept of the ``flat world'' has become the era's dominant metaphor, a cultural shorthand referring to the mix of opportunity and anxiety caused by globalization. Perhaps no one is more surprised by this outpouring from Silicon Valley than Friedman, who has watched his 488-page ``Flat'' sell more copies during its first 10 months than his previous three books sold in hardback combined. Trip to India ``I'd like to think it's because of my beautiful brown eyes and mellifluous voice,'' said Friedman, in a phone interview this week. ``But I know I caught a wave. You have to appreciate how incredibly unusual it is.'' Although Friedman had explored globalization in his 1999 book, ``The Lexus and the Olive Tree,'' in recent years he turned his attention to terrorism and Iraq. A trip to India in 2004 changed that. Friedman was astonished to see how outsourcing -- enabled by the Internet, high-speed fiber-optic cables and a well-trained army of engineers -- had transformed a relatively poor country like India into a tech powerhouse. For a crash course in high tech, Friedman barnstormed the valley where his tutors included a who's-who of the tech elite: Jim Barksdale, Craig Barrett, Eric Schmidt, Jerry Yang, Meg Whitman. Friedman became a sponge, absorbing their thoughts and transforming them into an easily understood analysis. ``Tom don't really know bits,'' he said almost mockingly of himself. ``And Tom don't really know bytes. But what I do naturally is connect dots.'' By the end of last year, the book had sold 1.1 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen Book-Scan. Readers in the Bay Area had snapped up 58,000 copies, the third most in the country, just behind the 60,000 sold in the Washington, D.C., region and 149,000 in the New York City area. Kepler's Books in Menlo Park has sold 800 copies and has more on the way. ``I thought it would resonate, but I'm surprised at the size of it,'' president Clark Kepler said. Carl Guardino, president and CEO of Silicon Valley Leadership Group, said he figured the book was going to be a hit beyond just the tech crowd when he saw Friedman speak at Google last spring. About 700 people attended, with the company providing books for many -- a common practice for Google. After Friedman spoke, comedian Robin Williams -- who happened to be in the audience and is apparently a big fan of the book -- jumped on stage and did some impromptu jokes about Friedman and the ``flat world.'' Beyond the numbers, ``Flat'' has managed to become the centerpiece of public conversation about the valley's future. It's taken on that role thanks to people like Brian O'Shaughnessy, a spokesman for VeriSign of Mountain View. He read the book and bought it for the entire VeriSign corporate communications team. ``I believe it to be required reading to understand our ecosystem,'' O'Shaughnessy wrote in an e-mail. And during a ``State of the Valley'' conference sponsored by Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network last month, several panelists throughout the day invoked Friedman's book. Peter Schwartz, a Friedman friend and chairman of the Global Business Network, a futurist think tank in Emeryville, said the author has taken something very complex that many in the valley have been struggling to explain and put it in a language easily understood. ``It's not radically new,'' Schwartz said. ``But he articulates it in such a way that it speaks to everyone.'' Role of tech Tony Perkins, editor of the Always-On Network and founder of Red Herring magazine, said another factor is simply ego: Techies like it when an outsider like Friedman sings the praises of how technology is making the world a better place. ``It makes us feel like this guy is affirming what we're doing,'' Perkins said. ``Aren't we smart?'' At the same time, much of the book's message is hardly a rosy one for the region: All the technology advances in recent years are helping India and China eat the valley's lunch. There's little work done in the U.S. that can't be done somewhere else much cheaper. And if the United States fails to invest more in math and science, its future is gloomy. So is the book's message optimistic or pessimistic for Silicon Valley? ``I think it's a hopeful one,'' said Jeanette Horan, an IBM vice president and general manager of its Silicon Valley Laboratory. ``But I'm hesitating. As an individual, a lot of people worry about what our own children will see in the world and what their life will be like.'' Critics disagree Of course, Friedman has his detractors. Kevin Danaher, co-founder of Global Exchange, a San Francisco organization fighting growing corporate power, said Friedman fails to acknowledge the dark side of globalization, such as the increasing environmental problems. ``He doesn't really see the dirty underbelly,'' Danaher said. ``The people we work with are pretty critical of Thomas Friedman. They see him as the mouthpiece of the empire.'' Still, the book has been embraced by many liberals who believe it supports their call for more spending on math and science education and by conservatives who like its embrace of free markets. And tech leaders eager to influence economic policy are trying to get politicians to read the book. Many were heartened last week when President Bush announced in his State of the Union speech a $136 billion initiative to boost America's global competitiveness, including additional federal money for basic research at Bay Area universities. But certainly that's not the last word. A ``Flat 2.0'' is due out this spring -- with another 100 pages. Contact Chris O'Brien at cobrien@mercurynews.com or (415) 477-2504.