Goertzel's concept of the "Global Webmind" is nothing new. The speed with which information crosses the globe has markedly expanded over the past ten years - not surprising. Every ethernet cable is a dendrite, every modem an axon... but is it really just the web?
Going back a bit, Appadurai talks about many issues of cultures crossing & heterogenization - "Japanization... for Koreans, Indianization for Sri Lankans, Vietnamization for Cambodians..." Do you really think that this is happening through just the web? The "imagined communities" he talks about are more than just that - they truly are a unifying force.
How many countries have heard of American Idol? The Eurovision song contest? How many have rushed to the support of those victimized by natural disasters? Where in the world won't people recognize a Coke bottle? Television, print media, music - these all play a part as well.
Different areas of the world, different imagined communities, different cultures, different subsets of information. The brain has a similar pattern of information retention - within the gyri & sulci lie many discrete packets of information, accessible at the slightest electrical impulse. There are also many types of nerves, many types of axons... not every cable is a DSL line.
A Global Mind may not be far away - but right before it hits, we'll all know.
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