Bring Out the Farmer’s Blimp

I listen to the radio in the car.  I know “old-school.”  I don’t even own an iPod.  Go figure.

Anyway, I was tuned into NPR a few days ago and heard the story of people who are playing a game called Farmville.  I have not played the game, but I have heard of it.  I think most people play the game on Facebook.  The idea of the game is that you grow virtual crops.  I have a hard enough time growing peas and beans in my own garden. Growing a crop online sounds like a lot of extra work.  And people actually pay real money to buy items to use on their “farm.”

The news piece on NPR was called, “Is That An Ad Growing In Your FarmVille Field?”  The story was about an insurance guy that got the bright idea to place an ad inside the game.  He convinced the game’s maker to produce a Farmer’s blimp.  People could get the Farmer’s Insurance  Blimp for free and have it hover over their fields for 10 days.  The whole time it was over their fields, their crops would not wither!  Imagine if the blimp worked like this for your tomato plants!

Okay, so here’s the sad part.  A lady said that she was so happy for the Farmer’s Blimp because, “it allowed me time to see my grand-kids.”  Yikes, that is feeling strangely like an addiction.  I’m wondering if it registered with her when she said it out loud?

I’m no fuddy-duddy when it comes to gaming.  My son has an XBox and I have been known to shoot a few bad guys or use the brand new Kinect.  But I am not one who subscribes to the theory that the online environment is a replica of real life.  Sorry, I still believe in spending time in the flesh.

There’s a virtual world out there and it will continue to grow.  But there will be an increasing opportunity for real connections through “live” relationships.