Today I was with a friend, and her teenage son, and we were talking about Facebook, and the phenomenon of Farmville! My friend's son was a little critical of our seeming "addiction" to this new Facebook application. To be fair, my daughter too, has been a little incredulous.

I have found myself talking about Farmville a lot lately....and in some cases defending my interest in it.

Funny, when I look at my connections and "neighbors" on Farmville, I find a very eclectic mix of professionals from all over the world. Seems there is no "typical" profile for a Farmville Farmer!

Before you judge your friends and colleagues who are madly farming, and planning their meetings around harvest times...consider the following.....

I have discovered a whole bunch of new, international connections as a result of playing, that are now interacting, commenting and reading my entries outside of the game. Today, for example, I was pondering (via Facebook) my difficulties in developing an activity that would really make the EEO & Bullying workshop I was to deliver meaningful. A new Farmville neighbor (from The Bronx, NY) commented and made a couple of suggestions....which were then read by my husband's nephew in law (a school teacher living in Bathurst NSW) and he commented with an excellent suggestion. Later that day, another colleague (who is currently holidaying in Bali) also made a very useful and insightful suggestion.

Workshop design via international, virtual, brainstorming.

Thank you Facebook.

Thank you Farmville.