Live Aid to Live 8

In July 1985 I was a sixteen year old living in a village of 700 people and 1000 horses in rural Australia. Live Aid came to us in a night long live broadcast from Wembley and Philadelphia. Some friends and myself watched it from the radio/beer shack one our our parents had at the back of their homemade house.
We managed maybe four beers through the night, feeling very drunk. Watched the telecast and slept in the yard under the chilly winter stars. I don't remember much of the actual content but I do remember it as the first time I actually felt part of the northern hemisphere. I felt connected to the world. In some ways it is how I feel today in regard to the internet.
Now it is being repeated but the connectivity has stepped up somewhat in the 20 years since Live Aid (estmated 1 billion viewers). Tomorrow night it will be on television, but also streamed on the net by AOL. Not only will those that log on be able to watch but they will be able to choose to some degree as well:

America Online Inc will stream complete, real-time feeds of the shows in six cities -Berlin, London, Paris, Philadelphia, Rome and Toronto - and offer another channel devoted to highlights from elsewhere.

organizers say the broadcasts on television, radio and the internet will be accessible to a potential audience of 5.5 billion people, or 85 per cent of the world's population.Sydney Morning Herald

Although 85 percent sounds like a market estimation, clearly we are becoming more connected on this planet.