On a visit to the InfoSys company in Bangalore, India - seeing how this company does business across the globe, and how smart young Indians are doing work that Americans once did, Friedman had an epiphany. The world is flat - meaning that it is no longer large and round, but small and level. The field on which businesses and people play has been flattened.

The three versions (eras) of globalization are:

1. Globalization 1.0 - From 1492 (when Columbus made his trip) to 1800. This was the period when countries went global. The era was driven by a desire for power and resources, and facilitated by technical and political developments.

2. Globalization 2.0 - From 1800 to 2000. This was the period when companies went global. The era was driven by multinational companies pursuing profit across the globe. The process was facilitated by advances in technology - especially in communication and transportation.

3. Globalization 3.0 - From 2000 to the present. This is the period when individuals go global. Using the latest tools, people can compete directly across the globe.  Example 1: A call center employee in India can manage a McDonald's drive thru in Kansas. Example 2: A soldier in Kansas can manage a remote-controlled Predator drone airplane in Iraq. Globalization 1.0 and 2.0 depended on hardware; globalization 3.0 depends on software and hardware.