Speaking solely from a sociologist's point of view, what is globalization?

To sociologists, globalization has a different meaning
than what it has in the minds of economists.  Economists focus on companies trading with
one another.  Sociologists look, instead, at culture and
society.

For sociologists, globalization is the process by
which the cultures and societies of the world come to be more similar to one another
than they previously have been.  Globalization can be seen in such things as the world
of professional soccer.  You now have people in China and Japan and the United States
following the teams in the English Premier League quite closely.  Globalization can be
seen also in more formal things like the United Nations.  The UN is an institution that
pushes to create similar values (such as human rights) in all countries of the
world.

Thus, globalization is the process by which the
societies and cultures of the world come to be more alike in ways as important as human
rights or as unimportant as supporting soccer teams.