Secret Addiction

I admit it, these days I peek at my iphone way too often to quickly take care of my cute little farm and cute little ranch. Take a look - I have quite a little plot, and now two sheep on the ranch!!!

Yes, a number of people make fun of my geekiness on this particular count (and yes, here is the little video that parodies the ridiculousness of this game),



BUT!!!! WAIT!!!!

While I am not the only zombie busy planting grass for her sheep and harvesting ridiculously expensive eggs, there are actually people out there making this game somewhat USEFUL.

And in fact...if I were to begin a business of my own (which I think about on occasion and should really begin to think about more seriously perhaps), I think my business would somehow go in this direction: linking the virtual world to the real world.

Check out these two REAL businesses that are doing just this.


The first one is a farm in Italy (beautiful webstie, btw) that lets people purchase plots of land in a virtual way, and then the farmers there plant vegetables, harvest them, and send them to the people who have paid for the land for the year. It's a bit pricey, but I think for a particular target group a very entertaining prospect. One has to buy vegetables anyway, so why not this way if it tickles your fancy? Here's the description: Users first select a garden size based on the number of people they'd like to feed; 30m2 is sufficient for 1–2 people and costs EUR 850 per year. The virtual gardener can then choose from 40 different types of vegetables, using a highly intuitive interface that includes information on expected yields and harvest times. Optional extras include a photo album of the garden's progress (EUR 49), herb and fruit beds (EUR 50/75), and even a scarecrow with a picture of the customer's own face (EUR 39). Once the garden has been designed and fees paid, planting begins on the farm, which is located between Milan and Turin in northern Italy. As the organic produce grows, it's picked and delivered to the customer's door within 24 hours. Weekly deliveries are part of the package.


And here is a spontaneously created business which addresses an immediate need: donate money to the Haiti relief fund and get "virtual" money in exchange. For those who planned to donate anyway and who are simultaneously farmville freaks, here is added impetus for donating. Crazy, but who cares if it benefits the relief effort and this is what it takes to get money from the public?