Playback - Spring 2008 - (Page 17)

INDUSTRY BOOKSHELF The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century By ThoMAS FRIEDMAN As globalization accelerates, the world may be becoming “smaller” but its complexity is increasing, raising difficult questions for the new millennium. Here to shed some light on the subject is award-winning New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman with his best-selling book The World Is Flat. Friedman explains how the “flattening” of the world—spurred by technology and the rapid development of the global supply chain—is affecting countries, corporations and communities. He considers the ways in which governments and societies must adapt to the bewildering pace of change and the shift in power among nations. Friedman identifies ten “flatteners” that are leveling the global playing field, including the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War, the development of Netscape and the Web, online collaboration and the spread of information, and the shift in business to outsourcing and offshoring. By using lists to highlight key concepts, he helps make the onslaught of economic and social changes easier to grasp. First released in 2005, the book was updated in 2006 and again (as “Release 3.0”) in 2007—yet another example of how rapidly the world is changing. Trade Shows Still a Top Choice for Business Decision Makers Just how effective are trade shows and conferences in building businesses today? A 2007 Forrester Research study indicates that 58 percent of business decision makers report spending five or more days each year at trade shows and conferences. Respondents consistently ranked trade shows among their top four choices for providing trustworthy, objective information for making business decisions and helping them grow their companies. Industry-specific trade shows and conferences topped their choices of where to increase their investment, surpassing business magazines, custom media, television and other information sources. Well over half of business-to-business decision makers reported that they intended to increase their spending on trade shows and conferences in 2009. Despite the proliferation of new digital media, traditional face-to-face contact remains valuable in building business. For many people, personal interaction is still an indispensable way to exchange ideas, and to both establish and solidify business relationships. What are you reading? Please e-mail playback@namm.org with books that helped you better understand business, the industry or consumers. SPRING 2008 17

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Playback - Spring 2008

Playback - Spring 2008 Contents From the President NAMM Events Music in the News Bringing Recreational Music Making to Iraq Commercial Retail Reps in the Field New Domestic Members International Washington Watch NAMM Foundation Music Notes Resources Viewpoint

Playback - Spring 2008

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