farmville, pepeng and ondoy

The twin typhoons and the water they brought were catasthropic. I guess my heart will carry this burden for a long time.

But I find Farmville user statistics and what it represent even more troubling = )

Serious.

But maybe I am mistaken and that the user statistics is a start of something good and encouraging, too = )

Serious.

Farmville was launched last 19 June 2009 and it now has 11 million daily users across the world. (According to my Google research, this Facebook application is the fastest growing game in its history.) As to how many Filipino users there is, I guess you have to open your Facebook account and do a little of creative math and a bit of aggregate forecasting = )

Now, off to Seriousville...

The thing about facts is that it is cold and it is unemotional. Things only start to jump out when we bring in our context, look and see what it means.

To the pessimist and the "angry" people, these Farmville statistics are troubling because it suggests that people enjoy farming as long as it is confined to their laptops or PCs. As long as farming is done in the comforts of their homes or even their beds. As long as farming is done according to their spoiled-bratty time, like farming at night, and not in nature's time. As long as it does not make them sweat and lose their gluthatione-induced fairness. 

That's troubling because virtual farms and virtual money can not feed the people in the evacuation centers. Nor can the love, the understanding, the effort and the commitment to virtual farms help abate the real rushing waters from the mountains. Nor can it feed the ever growing malnourished and undernourished people of the world. Farmville statitics is troubling because it trivializes the importance and significance of farming!

But to the optimists and the young at heart, these statistics is great news because suddenly the 1st wave technology, agriculture and farming, is in vogue and cool again. (Note: Second wave technology is the Industrial Revolution and 3rd wave technology is the Information Technology Revolution.) Farmville apparently shows the Netizen of the world about the rules and law of nature. Farmville opens the eyes and mind of the spoiled-brats about the importance of time and the role it plays in farming. Farmville also shows the significance of weather and the importance of having good and agriculture-friendly weather.

The Farmville statistics are encouraging because there is this unique and fun way of communicating the importance of agriculture to the next generation that somehow can not be communicated fully by their financially-struggling sun-burnt parents. Farmville statistics are enouraging because, at last, there is this way to communicate this obvious fact, so obvious that it is almost a mysterious secret - when the farmers do not go to work anymore, as in not plant rice and raise animals, the whole world will not eat!

So, which one of the analyis and scenario will come to past?

Depends on how many pessimists and optimists act out there. If the pessimists outdo the optimists, then we are all doomed. If the optimists outdo the pessimists, then wisdom comes.

But the funny thing is this, the scenario and analysis that speaks to you most reveals the state of your heart = )

"... why think like mere men?"