IMPACT OF NEW DIGITAL MEDIA ON GLOBALIZATION

Globalization

Globalization (or globalisation) is the process of international integration arising from the

interchange of world views, products, ideas, and other aspects of culture. Put in simple terms,

globalization refers to processes that increase world-wide exchanges of national and cultural

resources. Advances in transportation and telecommunications infrastructure, including the

rise of the telegraph and its posterity the Internet, are major factors in globalization,

generating further interdependence of economic and cultural activities (Wikimedia

Foundation. Inc, 2013).

From an economic perspective, it refers to the “increasing unification of the world’s

economic order through reduction of such barriers to international trade as tariffs, export

fees, and import quotas,” as well as the “the integration of national economies through trade,

foreign direct investment, capital flows, migration, the spread of technology and military

presence.” But it can also refer to social integration through the exchange of ideas, language

and popular culture.

Globalization is not new, though. For thousands of years, people—and, later, corporations—

have been buying from and selling to each other

in lands at great distances, such as through the

famed Silk Road across Central Asia that

connected China and Europe during the Middle

Ages. Likewise, for centuries, people and

corporations have invested in enterprises in

other countries. In fact, many of the features of

the current wave of globalization are similar to

those prevailing before the outbreak of the First

World War in 1914.

But policy and technological developments of the past few decades have spurred increases

in cross-border trade, investment, and migration so large that many observers believe the

world has entered a qualitatively new phase in its economic development. Since 1950, for

example, the volume of world trade has increased by 20 times, and from just 1997 to 1999

Picture 1: Extent of the Silk Road and Spice trade routes owned by the Ottoman Empire in 1453 spurring exploration

flows of foreign investment nearly doubled, from $468 billion to $827 billion (The Levin

Institute - The State University of New York, 2013). Distinguishing this current wave of

globalization from earlier ones, author Thomas Friedman has said that today globalization

is “farther, faster, cheaper, and deeper.”

So, in a nutshell, Globalization is considered to be the movement of people, information,

goods and service from one country to another. Through globalization, “select people,

groups, nations and regions of the world get more and better products and services while

others receive fewer and poorer ones. Changes within the basic arrangements of

relationships between nations typically mean that the privileged become more privileged,

while the underprivileged become less so” (Matei, 2004).

Global village

There are 250 countries on this planet. Each country has its own culture, education system,

defense system, trade policy etc. But under the “Global Village” term, the world is viewed as

a community in which distance and isolation have been dramatically reduced by electronic

and digital media (as television and the Internet). Today, the term "Global Village" can be

used to describe the Internet and World Wide Web (McLuhan, 1964).

On the Internet, physical distance is even less of a hindrance to the real-time communicative

activities of people, and therefore social spheres are greatly expanded by the openness of the

web and the ease at which people can search for online communities and interact with others

who share the same interests and concerns. Therefore, this technology fosters the idea of a

conglomerate yet unified global community. According to McLuhan, the enhanced "electric

speed in bringing all social and political functions together in a sudden implosion has

heightened human awareness of responsibility to an intense degree." Increased speed of

communication and the ability of people to read about, spread, and react to global news

quickly, forces us to become more involved with one another from various social groups and

countries around the world and to be more aware of our global responsibilities. Similarly,

web-connected computers enable people to link their web sites together. This new reality

has implications for forming new sociological structures within the context of culture.

So, the Earth is no longer considered as a world, consisting of 249 countries, rather a global

village which has 249 families living in it and these families do trade among them in such a

way so that all of them are better off in the end.

Digital media

Digital media is a form of electronic media

where data are stored in digital (as opposed to

analog) form. It can refer to the technical aspect

of storage and transmission (e.g. hard disk

drives or computer networking) of information

or to the "end product", such as digital video,

augmented reality, digital signage, digital audio,

or digital art (Wikimedia Foundation Inc., 2013).

Florida's digital media industry association, Digital Media Alliance Florida, defines digital

media as "the creative convergence of digital arts, science, technology and business for

human expression, communication, social interaction and education" In many ways, digital

media are no different from analog recorded media, which have been around for decades.

What is unique is the ability to easily create, copy, and transmit digital media. They can be

streamed, downloaded or stored on media such as CD or DVD. The recent popularity of

mobile devices such as iPods that allow audio and video to be downloaded and experienced

anywhere, anytime, have also increased the use, as well as the hype, around digital media.

Digital media for globalization and vice versa

There is a direct link between the accelerated pace of globalization, and the spread of digital

technology and Internet connectivity, over the past few decades.

“The rapid development and diffusion of information and communication technologies

(ICTs), such as the Internet, are central aspects of globalization. The Internet is a ‘network of

networks’ that creates a global communication platform enabling new forms of economic

ties and social networking, which in turn creates incentives for the continuing development

of improved communication infrastructures. The declining cost and greater ease of

electronic communication, as with travel, has created unprecedented opportunities for

people to connect with others around the world” (Kidela Capital Group, 2012).

Impact of Digital media on Globalization

If the Internet was to Shut down Tomorrow…

What will happen if internet were to shut down tomorrow? Internet is the core theme of the

whole digital media world and globalization. If internet were to shut down, it will have a

drastic impact on the economic, business, education and all other sector of globalization.

From economic point of view

In 1776, Scottish economist and moral philosopher Adam Smith published his seminal work,

The Wealth of Nations. It was the dawn of the Industrial Revolution and he argued the

benefits of free market economies to their societies.

Now globalization and digitization have redefined which side of the globe holds the balance

of economic power. In a recent article titled “Wealth of Nation’s 2.0,” business journalist

Preetam Kaushik summed up how both trends are reshaping the developing world- “While

the West has been trading with Asian countries for centuries, in the new Digital Economy with

new digital media, countries like India, China and the Philippines have emerged as outsourcing

hubs; helping companies in developed countries with menial tasks, so they can shift their focus

almost entirely to innovation and expansion. But even the emerging countries have benefited,

as their economies have begun to grow. With their economies growing, their domestic

consumption has risen, fuelling further growth in these countries” (Kidela Capital Group,

2012).

A study by the World Bank found that any increase in telecommunications penetration –

fixed or mobile telephone service, or Internet connectivity – results in a greater gain in

economic growth in low and middle income countries than in high-income countries. It is the

emerging economies of the developing world that are benefitting the most from the growth

in telecommunications and other aspects of digital media, thanks largely to increased

broadband Internet penetration.

For example; China is aggressively rolling out broadband services to its increasingly urban

population. At present, roughly two-thirds of China’s population – more than double the

entire population of the U.S. – has yet to come online. China still has huge growth potential

and already accounts for about 30 per cent of the world’s online retail market.

International Business

Social media platforms and free communications services such as Skype, Facebook have

globalized personal communication and redefined “community.” Even the most modest

micro-business can be a multinational enterprise because of online commerce. On any given

day, trillions of dollars’ worth of goods, services, commodities and financial instruments are

traded across the globe via various online platforms.

For example, 1200 to 2400

Dress World is an online shop

which imports its product

from India and Pakistan and

sells it to the Bangladeshi

customers. Because of new

emerging digital media, many

small proprietorship

businesses now have an

international operating

region.

If the Internet were to shut down tomorrow, it would cripple global financial markets, the

banking sector and large companies that have become dependent on cloud-based networks

to operate their businesses and manage their supply chains.

Besides that, multinational companies now perform many of their business functions

through internet or by using digital media. The digital explosion in emerging markets is

creating strong growth opportunities for multinational corporations looking to diversify

their operations beyond their traditional markets.

Picture 2: An Online Shop Doing Business through FACEBOOK

IBM, for example, has more than 400,000 employees

but only 105,000 of them live in the U.S. The

corporation’s global procurement operations are now

based in China, while its data processing and

accounting functions are located in India, Brazil and the

Philippines (Kidela Capital Group, 2012).

But these emerging economies shouldn’t be dismissed as simply centers for low-cost labor

and manufacturing services. They are producing their own multinational giants and

grabbing market share from established business titans across Europe and North America.

For example; Vodacom has grown from a joint venture of South Africa/U.K. into a pan-

African wireless operator that also provides carrier and business services to customers in

more than 70 countries (Kidela Capital Group, 2012).

Because of digital media, companies can take faster decisions and provide customers

solution more quickly than before. And also, instead of printing inserts and waiting for the

Sunday paper to announce their sales, companies now can let the world know about their

promotional offers through email, social networking, their websites and Internet ads.

Digital media means businesses can reach more customers than ever before. A simple

promotion featuring a “1 BUY, 1 FREE” can earn a business hundreds or thousands of

Facebook fans and email and text message subscribers, meaning that the business can send

a message to these consumers with just a touch of a button (Miranda Morley, 2013).

However, digital media also means that those consumers can reach back. Through negative

comments to the Facebook page and other social networking sites, like Twitter and company

blog, customers can use digital media to take a complaint that would have otherwise been

between the customer and company worldwide.

Using new digital media means using new technology both to create and support the media.

New technology can be an asset for your business. It can provide competitive advantage over

other companies globally.

Globalization does not only mean exchange of goods and services, it also means exchange

of ideas and solutions so that every family in this global village can be better off. For example;

nations that are facing shortages of drinking water and food have been helped by the Internet

and social networks. For these countries, these digital media tools provided them with vital

and desperately needed information about health issues and farming to the people. The best

example of this is HealthNet.

HealthNet is “a networked

information service that supports

health-care workers in more than

30 countries, 22 of which are in

Africa” (Bruder, 2007). HealthNet

was primarily used by doctors in

Central Africa to share

information during the 1995

deadly Ebola outbreak. Currently,

HealthNet is used by malaria researchers in the northern part of Ghana to communicate with

colleagues at the London School of Tropical Medicine.

International Tourism

Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism

Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual

environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other

purposes" (Wikimedia Foundation. Inc, 2013).

As a result of the late-2000s recession, international travel demand suffered a strong

slowdown from the second half of 2008 through the end of 2009. In 2010, international

tourism reached US$919B, growing 6.5% over 2009, corresponding to an increase in real

terms of 4.7%. In 2010, there were over 940 million international tourist arrivals worldwide

(Wikimedia Foundation. Inc, 2013).

Globalization has made tourism a popular global leisure activity. The World Health

Organization (WHO) estimates that up to 500,000 people are in flight at any one time. And

invention of new digital Media such as Cell phones, Tablet Computers with GPS Apps or other

file sharing apps has enabled and motivated people towards tourism.

A Force for Political and Social Activism

The most compelling examples of how digital media and technology is reshaping how we

perceive, interact and influence our world came during the Arab Spring protests in early

2011, which saw a number of dictators in Northern Africa and the Middle East swept from

power by civil unrest.

The University of Washington‘s Project on Information Technology and Political Islam

recently analyzed over three million tweets, many gigabytes of YouTube content and

thousands of blog posts to understand how the proliferation of digital devices and social

media helped to shape the events and outcome of the Arab Spring (Kidela Capital Group,

2012).

Though many eastern countries’ refusal to open up the flow of information between its

citizens and businesses and the rest of the world is criticized to be short-sighted and could

cripple the nation’s economic growth, even in Western democracies, where freedom of

speech and access to information are considered basic rights, digital technology has served

to put political and business leaders on guard by exposing sensitive government and

personal information to the public and thus considered to be over open. There are of course

the political scandals, where one ill-thought Tweet, digital photo or raunchy email creates a

public relations nightmare for a prominent politician. But these pale before the power of an

entity such as WikiLeaks to embarrass entire governments and complicate diplomatic

relations between nations.

WikiLeaks is an international non-profit organization which

publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media

from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and

whistleblowers. The organization has earned the ire of the U.S.

State Department over the past two years for publicizing tens

of thousands of confidential diplomatic messages and other

leaked government documents relating to pivotal events in the

Middle East and elsewhere over the past 45 years

Localization and Digital Media

Localization is also an aspect of digital globalization. This is particularly evident with the

growing popularity of localized search tools for consumers looking for nearby goods and

services. Mobile apps can help one find the nearest Italian restaurant and retrieve customer

ratings. Location-based services pinpoint one’s mobile phone’s location to direct him/her to

the nearest bank machine, gas station or best route around a traffic jam.

A recent analysis by social media analytics company Socialbakers looked at the local and

national Facebook pages of major brands such as Nike, Starbucks and BMW. It found that

more localized pages enjoyed more audience engagement (Kidela Capital Group, 2012).

Digital media and technology enables localization in a variety of other ways as well, such as

affirming and preserving cultural identity.

Illicit International Trade

The black side of globalization and digital media is that, all the positive aspects of

globalization and digital media are also contributing to the illicit international trade. "Black

markets" and organized crime now operate on a transnational basis, with global sales

totaling almost US$2 trillion annually (Wikimedia Foundation. Inc, 2013).

Drug trade, human smuggling and trafficking has now reached its full height. And because of

the help of digital media and technology, it has become very difficult to catch the culprits

behind these illegal businesses.

Culture

Cultural globalization has increased cross-cultural contacts but may be accompanied by a

decrease in the uniqueness of once-isolated communities. Now, because of digital media,

Coca cola and Sushi is available to all part of the world. Globalization and digital media gave

support to the World Music phenomenon by allowing locally-recorded music to reach

Western audiences searching for new ideas and sounds. For example, Western musicians

have adopted many innovations that originated in other cultures.

The term "World Music" was originally intended for ethnic-specific music. Now,

globalization is expanding its scope such that the term often includes hybrid sub-genres such

as World fusion, Global fusion, Ethnic fusion and

World beat (Wikimedia Foundation. Inc, 2013).

Music flowed outward from the West as well.

Anglo-American and also Asian pop music

spread across the world. Dependency Theory

explained that the world was an integrated,

international system. For example; PSY, a

Korean singer whose song named “Gangnam

Style” made to the top chart of music and stayed there for 6 months.

Picture 3: PSY- a Korean Singer

Works Cited

Bruder, K. (2007). The Globalization of Media in Developing Countries. Dr.Janie Diels.

Kidela Capital Group. (2012, December 8). Globalization and digital technology go hand in

hand. Retrieved from KIDELA: http://www.kidela.com/reports-and-

research/globalization-and-digital-technology-go-hand-in-hand/

Matei, S. A. (2004). The Role of the Global Telecommunications Network in Bridging

Economic and Political Divides. Journal of Communication, 511-531.

McLuhan, M. (1964). Understanding Media. Canada : Gingko Press.

Miranda Morley, D. M. (2013). The Positive & Negative Impact of Digital Media on Business.

Retrieved from CHRON: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/positive-negative-impact-

digital-media-business-20910.html

The Levin Institute - The State University of New York. (2013). What is Globalization.

Retrieved from Globalization 101: http://www.globalization101.org/what-is-

globalization

Wikimedia Foundation Inc. (2013, September 10). Digital Media. Retrieved from Wikipedia,

The Free Encyclopedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_media

Wikimedia Foundation. Inc. (2013, September 20). Globalization. Retrieved from

Wikipedia- The free Encyclopedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globalization