"Aquarius-You're Gonna Die! Capricorn-You're Gonna Die! Gemini-You're Gonna Die TWICE! Leo-You're Gonna Die! Scorpio-You're Gonna Die..."

In agreement with several other students, such as Julia and Joy, the beginning of the cluetrain manifesto is a lame attempt at throwing out some heartrending, life reflecting, what is the meaning of life sort of statement that is supposed to grab the audiences attention. He writes "’Life is too short,’ we say, and it is. Too short for office politics, for busywork and pointless paper chases, for jumping through hoops and covering our asses, for trying to please, to not offend, for constantly struggling to achieve some ever-receding definition of success.” And I think to myself this guy is dead on. Life is too short. Way too short for me to waste time reading his book or writing a paper on it for that matter. However, it must be done.

Aside from my feelings about the beginning, the frequent use of convoluted words, and the all too clever metaphors I think the author is on to something…We Die! Not in the literal sense, however. He says that corporations are nothing but human beings. We are human beings; we run business, so if corporations fall apart because they are too foolish to take advantage of the new technologies that our society has created then we die.

The internet has taken the world by storm and it’s ever growing, changing and expanding. For those who have embraced the powers of the World Wide Web it has become their life. We can’t go a day without checking e-mail or instant messaging someone. Today we can read the newspaper, read a book, download music, chat, buy everything and anything even groceries, and many more things on the internet. So why not take part in its “phenomenal cosmic powers.”

Corporations have the opportunity to expand their business by using the internet medium to converse with its consumers. By allowing its employees to set up blogs in which they can be honest about products as well as give buyers a chance to give their opinions it will boost support and revenue. Microsoft already participates in this with Scobleizer. Not only does the internet allow for free flow of thought but it also allows people to buy. By putting businesses on the internet it gives those who don’t want to leave the house a chance to get everything they need right from their home. The World Wide Web brings great opportunity for a business to flourish and reach full potential. If big businesses continue to be hush-hush about their operations hiding behind firewalls they may find themselves floundering.

The internet is the present, and the future, and I foresee those who are willing to put themselves out there being top dogs. Some small business owner who knows how to effectively use the internet may come out of nowhere to take some large corporations place. So they may want to open up their eyes to new technologies and stop being old fuddy duddies.

Finally, one last thought on this whole dying thing. However brilliant the internet may be I see it creating a perimeter around each of us that doesn’t allow for human contact. It is too easy for us to sit in front of the computer and get what we need. We can create new friendships online but when it comes to face to face communication our skills are slowly diminishing. Therefore we are experiencing a death of interpersonal relationships as well. We can’t lose site of how important intimacy is so get out from in front of the computer for a while and talk to people. But before you go running off read what Buddha has to say about intimacy and the internet.

The Saddening of Our Society

I myself, as well as many other classmates, have come to the realization, after reading the essay “Unmade in America- the True Cost of a Global Assembly Line,” that the large corporations that run this country have put themselves and ultimately us at risk for economic collapse. They do so by outsourcing/globalization.

The author states the two main problems with globalization:
(1) Globalization is good because it spreads what is good in America, such as a liberal approach to business, and McDonald's.
(2) Globalization is bad because it spreads what is worst about America, such as a liberal approach to business, and McDonald's.

As a country we feel that we are superior to all others and that by outsourcing we have maximized profits while minimizing production costs but the truth is we have put ourselves in a place where these other countries can, at any moment, pull the rug out from under us paralyzing our economy. We rely too heavily on outsourcing to have products made which ultimately requires us to rely on other countries. As Lynn states “On September 21, 1999, an earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale killed some 2,500 people in Taiwan. Within days, the stock prices of Dell, Apple, and Hewlett-Packard plummeted as investors focused for a short moment on just how much these companies depend on Taiwan-based factories.”

According to the New York News Network "India has reigned as the king of offshore outsourcing, renowned for its skilled information technology labor, low salaries, and high productivity. But it may soon face a legion of competition from other developing nations vying for attention from US companies. Such a scenario has raised concern among some experts, who stress that poor management, compounded by a lack of proper risk assessment, could lead to higher cost in the long run." Another article that goes into more detail of outsourcing is found at In Tech, where the author foes into more detail of of the matter by discussing quality, jobs in the US, and what the future might bring.

Bringing McDonald’s in as an example is humorous but saddening and undeniably true. However we all know that the spread of McDonald’s is not good yet we continue to support the company and the globalization of it. As Danielle states “we as a society are so indecisive and out of control that we cannot come together and figure out what is truly "good" or "bad" for us.”

When looking at the control and command model it is blatantly obvious that there is a lack of communication and that this hinders production. Elena R goes into much more detail of how this model is inadequate by quoting Lynn as well as giving her own opinion. As American's we are content to sit as an obese society devouring all the cheesburgers of the rest of the world, but these other countries may soon decide to stop making our cheeseburgers and then we may find ourselves a starving nation.