I’ve said many times before that I’ve been a computing professional most of my life.  I was managing a local computer retail store at the age of 16 (The Software Station in West Bloomfield, MI for those that are curious… no, Google doesn’t show anything on it, I’ve checked…)  A few years ago when I was writing for Gear Diary, the social networking craze was just getting under way.  I got all sorts of invitations for joining this (now defunct) network or that network. 

(At the time,) I wasn’t interested.  Then came Facebook.

The new Facebook home page…

It was different.  It was a place to stash pictures (without having to use a separate social networking service, like Picasa or Flickr), stay in touch with friends, and play games. It was cute, and it did have some compelling points.  It was a good place to try to reconnect with high school classmates and long lost friends, without having to pay for a premium/gold membership to anything. I hate things like that.  The internet should be free; but that’s a different flag to wave for a different time…

So…Facebook.  Right!  Then came FarmTown… OY!

I know that there have been a few articles from a few different people on a few different sites saying, “please don’t send me your FarmTown requests because I will just ignore you and curse you (and the game) for the pestilence that it is.” I’m not here to beat that drum.  That’s been done, and I’ve already joined the band.  So officially:

Please don’t send me your FarmTown requests because I will just ignore you and curse you (and the game) for the pestilence that it is.

However, I will say this – Facebook’s FarmTown is the WordPerfect 5.x for DOS equivalent of the new millennium. 

No. I know you aren’t going to type your term paper in FarmTown.  I’m not THAT whacky!  My point is simply this – If you’re a computer newbie (or if you know of one that wants to get into computers) then FarmTown (like WordPerfect back in the day) is a GREAT place to get the party started.

My wife’s farm for Valentine’s Day…

PERFECT case in point – my mother-in-law. If there is one person that didn’t know how to spell the word PC, it was her.  However, my wife, much to her credit (and chagrin) decided to get both of her parents involved in Facebook AND FarmTown.

Long story short, my mother-in-law is now one of the more savvy FarmTown-ies I have seen.  My wife has been playing for more than 18 months and is at level 41.  My wife and mother in law now call each other multiple times a day to coordinate harvesting, plowing, planting and general farm tweaking.  My MIL has been playing for about 3 months and is at level 36. We’ve also got her and my father-in-law using Skype and they are able to have video chats with the kids whenever they want; and on occasion, they’ll have a Skype call going while they farm.

My wife and Mother-in-Law’s avatar’s on my MIL’s farm…

I think its wonderful that something so fun and so simple has gotten my family to communicate more. In a way its brought us closer; but on the other hand…

My wife is at times up until 1am, 2am, and YES even 3am farming, chatting on Facebook and Skyping with friends.  Most of this is done from our bedroom, while I am laying next to her, trying to sleep (she’s a laptop user), and as such, I can sometimes end up tossing and turning at all hours of the night while she giggles herself silly, sitting up next to me.

So, I go to sleep, she’s on FarmTown/Facebook.  I call from the office, she’s on FarmTown/Facebook.  I come home from work, she’s on FarmTown/Facebook… sometimes in the same spot; and yes, you’re right – she hasn’t moved.

I can’t help but laugh.

She’s addicted.  She’s admitted it; but at the same time, she, her parents, MY parents (they don’t farm yet to my knowledge…) and her friends are all stuck on this darn game that just moos, clucks, and whinnies itself under my skin all the time, everyday, OUT LOUD. I have no idea how the developer makes any money. I’d love  to see the business plan though… they have to be laughing themselves straight to the bank.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this whole thing. While I know its an interesting phenomenon, I can’t help but wonder how long it will last, and what we’ll flock to when we look back and say,

“You still use Facebook and play FarmTown??  That is SOOOO MySpace…”