3 ms·

peace: Google Translate, Skype, Facetime, Street View, YouTube

by raldi 11y ago

remarkEon 11y ago
I'd add google maps to that. Been wandering around Tokyo and Japan for a while on vacation and I've never once felt like I didn't know where I was going. Google Translate is also pretty good for translating text on signs through that photo functionality (sometimes the english is a bit rough, but still totally usable). Met a software dev last night at dinner who spoke little English (I speak pretty much zero Japanese aside from basic travel phrases) and we sat there with our phones out and had a great conversation about everything from baseball to work to family. That kind of connection would have been much more difficult without it. Hell, call me crazy but maybe we could even add Snapchat to that. The "Live" stories where I can see snap videos from cities around the world is pretty cool.
- raldi 11y ago
  When was the last time two English-speaking countries went to war with each other? When you can talk to "the enemy" without a language barrier, or watch their creativity on YouTube, or go for a virtual walk down their streets, it's a lot harder to support killing them.
  - remarkEon 11y ago
    And when something like Google Maps enables my mobility like it does in a place I'm totally unfamiliar with, it's a lot more difficult to be guarded or reserved when traveling, because I'm not stressed about getting around, and I can enjoy the place more and meet people, which is sort of the point right?
  - ido 11y ago
    Arab speaking countries/regions often go to war with one another (witness current and recent conflicts in Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, etc).
- raldi 11y ago
  Also, peace means more than just "not going to war". For example, when video cameras got so small and cheap and power-conserving that they could be stuffed into every cellphone and worn by police officers, it kicked off a transformation of race relations and the topic of deadly police force in the United States. I think this particular change is only beginning to pick up steam, and will be a major force for domestic peace in the years ahead.

peace: Google Translate, Skype, Facetime, Street View, YouTube

by raldi 11y ago

peace: Google Translate, Skype, Facetime, Street View, YouTube

I'd add google maps to that. Been wandering around Tokyo and Japan for a while on vacation and I've never once felt like I didn't know where I was going. Google Translate is also pretty good for translating text on signs through that photo functionality (sometimes the english is a bit rough, but still totally usable). Met a software dev last night at dinner who spoke little English (I speak pretty much zero Japanese aside from basic travel phrases) and we sat there with our phones out and had a great conversation about everything from baseball to work to family. That kind of connection would have been much more difficult without it. Hell, call me crazy but maybe we could even add Snapchat to that. The "Live" stories where I can see snap videos from cities around the world is pretty cool.

raldi 11y ago
When was the last time two English-speaking countries went to war with each other? When you can talk to "the enemy" without a language barrier, or watch their creativity on YouTube, or go for a virtual walk down their streets, it's a lot harder to support killing them.
- remarkEon 11y ago
  And when something like Google Maps enables my mobility like it does in a place I'm totally unfamiliar with, it's a lot more difficult to be guarded or reserved when traveling, because I'm not stressed about getting around, and I can enjoy the place more and meet people, which is sort of the point right?
- ido 11y ago
  Arab speaking countries/regions often go to war with one another (witness current and recent conflicts in Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, etc).
raldi 11y ago
Also, peace means more than just "not going to war". For example, when video cameras got so small and cheap and power-conserving that they could be stuffed into every cellphone and worn by police officers, it kicked off a transformation of race relations and the topic of deadly police force in the United States. I think this particular change is only beginning to pick up steam, and will be a major force for domestic peace in the years ahead.