In December I read in various places that there are more active players of the Facebook app FarmVille than on all of Twitter. Facebook claims FarmVille has 69 million active players per month, and research shows Twitter has around 18 million users. I heard this news and thought, “What is FarmVille?”
So I tried it. I built my farm. I got some ducks and a wheelbarrow. I became addicted to unlocking new crops. Getting tractors was very exciting as it quadrupled the efficiency of planting and harvesting and, therefore, unlocking further crops. The process even had some educational value: I did not know, or had forgotten, what artichokes looked like while they were still at field. But now I’m out of tractor fuel and have to click 300 times just to sow a new round of crops.
I just don’t care. Even if I were to pay real-world money to unlock special features, you are no closer to winning because you cannot win. And yet, you cannot lose either. So, what is the point?
Comments