Maybe Columbus was wrong?

After listening to Thom Friedman, I think that Columbus' voyage would be much easier today, because the world really is flat!
Of course, I do not mean that literally. But as easy as it is to get from one place to another, contact people, and get information, one might think it was flat.With all of the technology available to us today, it is as if we were right next door to people that are actually around the world. This not only connects us to people we may never have thought of, it levels("flattens") the playing field in business as well.
Companies in Europe can now compete with North American companies as if they were located here. This not only expands the market for the company, it betters the product/service available to the consumer! It has only been in the last 20 years that there was a true world wide market for almost anything. If you have an internet connection and a credit card, you can get anything, anywhere, anytime, from anybody!
I think this also allows us to make stronger emotional connections as well. When the tsunami struck, it was as if we were there. We had almost instant footage, before/after satellite photos, and thousands of images of the destruction. This amazing technology is also what allowed us to help more quickly than ever before. We could donate online and our monies were working to help the very next day. The same was true for our neighbors when they saw the destruction of Hurricane Katrina.
Just as with any advancement, there are disadvantages. This technology also allows the dishonest quicker and easier ways to take advantage of others. But, it also gives law enforcement quicker and easier ways to catch the criminals.
As the world flattens itself out, I hope that the honest people in the world will prevail in the number of new ways to put these amazing technological advances to work for us.