Vault: She and her mom are obsessed with Farmville

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Bert Show – “Vault: She and her mom are obsessed with Farmville”
Episode Date: June 3, 2026
Featuring: The Bert Show team (Bert, Kristin, Abby, Cassie, Tommy, et al.) and intern Reshma

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the surprising cultural phenomenon of Farmville obsession, sparked by a previous day’s conversation. The hosts and intern Reshma discuss the staggering popularity of Farmville, its addictive qualities, and how it’s impacting users’ lives—including Reshma and her mother’s shared addiction. The conversation then transitions into Reshma’s personal goals for the year, particularly her ambitious idea to document 100 days of dancing in 100 outfits, inspired by a viral video.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Farmville Obsession: Listener Reactions and Surprising Stats

• The show quickly addresses the overwhelming listener feedback from discussing Farmville, noting that the topic received more engagement than even personal show drama.
  • “We got more emails yesterday and more Facebook messages yesterday about Farmville than I did about Jeff Dollar.” (C, 01:05)
• People were upset about Farmville being mocked, showing the game’s loyal fanbase.
  • “People were upset. Man, you don't make fun of Farmville, dude.” (C, 01:24)
• The hosts are stunned by how Farmville’s user base dwarfs even Twitter’s:
  • “Twitter has 18 million subscribers. Farmville has 69 million.” (C, 01:28–01:41)
  • “So those that are into it are into it. And I heard from all 69 million yesterday.” (C, 01:42, jokingly)

2. Personal Stories: Reshma's Farmville Addiction

• Intern Reshma admits she became a “Farmville freak” because of her mother’s obsession.
  • “...my mother...is obsessed with Farmville. She will wake me up in the middle of the night...to tell me that I had to harvest my crops.” (D, 02:23–02:34)
• The dynamic of being drawn in not just by the game, but for social/family reasons, is highlighted humorously.
  • “I feel like I need to stay on for my mother's sanity. No jokes.” (D, 02:35)

3. Understanding the Appeal and Addictiveness

• The team struggles to understand the game’s appeal, but acknowledges its addictive design and continuous updates to keep players engaged.
  • “They keep enhancing it...So I think they're just making it like people want to keep going until they give up.” (D, 03:09–03:16)
• Reshma explains the free-to-play model and in-game purchases, noting temptation to spend real money for virtual rewards.
  • “I want that one little thing for my farm. And I will consider pulling out my credit card and paying for it.” (D, 04:08)
• The show references message boards where people complain about Farmville impacting relationships and home life.
  • “People are losing their jobs over it. You get addicted to it.” (C, 04:22–04:33)

4. Reshma’s Ambitious 100-Day Dance Challenge

• Reshma is inspired by a viral YouTube video of a student dancing in different outfits and locations to 100 different songs.
  • “He shoots the video himself...at different locations...and in every single one, he's got a different outfit on.” (D, 05:02–05:36)
• As both a dancer and a fashion enthusiast, Reshma relates to the project and considers taking on a similar 100-day challenge herself, which would also force her to utilize more of her wardrobe.
  • “I was like, what if I challenge myself for 2010 to try and do this hundred day thing?” (D, 07:07–07:32)
• She shares her past success not repeating outfits for an entire school year and details the focus and confidence this brought her.
  • “I had a bet with my friend senior year that I wouldn't repeat a single outfit any day. And I won...” (D, 07:47)

5. Show Support and the Practicalities of the Challenge

• The team offers to feature Reshma’s 100-day challenge on the show’s upcoming new website, providing her with a public platform and accountability.
  • “...somewhere on our webpage would be, you know, Reshma's Hundred Dances and outfits in 100 days. And you would be responsible for updating that thing every day.” (C, 10:51)
• Discussion touches on how much commitment, planning, and resilience the project would demand—especially with travel and life events.
  • “Three straight months of full dancing, of planning. No matter what's going on in your life, you've gotta set up that tripod...” (C, 09:41)
• Reshma acknowledges the challenge and excitement, pondering the motivation and happiness it could bring her.
  • “It's one of those things where I want to do it to make myself happy...Clothes make me happy. Dancing make me happy. This sounds amazing.” (D, 11:51)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• On Farmville’s Surprising Popularity:
  • “Farmville has 69 million [users]...Almost 70 million on Farmville. So those that are into it are into it. And I heard from all 69 million yesterday.” — C, 01:41–01:52
• On Family Dynamics in Gaming:
  • “She will wake me up in the middle of the night, like last night, knowing before I had to come to work to tell me that I had to harvest my crops. I swear.” — D, 02:29–02:34
• On Free-to-Play Model Temptation:
  • “I have come really close...I want that one little thing for my farm. And I will consider pulling out my credit card and paying for it.” — D, 04:08
• On the Power of Clothing and Confidence:
  • “Me getting ready and feeling good about myself...it's just like a confidence thing. And I feel like you can wear something if you feel like you look good in it. If other people don't like it, it doesn't matter.” — D, 08:53–09:15

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Important Timestamps

• Farmville Listener Response and Stats: 01:05–01:52
• Reshma’s Story: Her and Her Mom’s Addiction: 02:20–03:00
• On Addictive Nature and Monetization of Farmville: 03:09–04:22
• Consequences of Addiction (Message Boards): 04:22–04:39
• Reshma Introduces 100-Day Dance Challenge: 05:02–07:07
• Discussion about Outfits, Confidence, and Planning: 07:39–09:19
• Show’s Offer to Feature the Challenge: 10:51–11:38

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Tone and Style

The conversation is enthusiastic, candid, and full of humor, typical of The Bert Show’s authentic and relatable style. Reshma brings both vulnerability and determination to her story, while the hosts balance playful skepticism with supportive encouragement.

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Takeaway

This episode captures how digital fads like Farmville can spark serious (and funny) real-life impacts, while also delving into themes of self-expression, motivation, and pursuing personal challenges. It’s both a lighthearted exposé on online obsessions and an inspiring nudge toward setting (and sharing) ambitious personal goals.

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For more, visit The Bert Show’s website or check back for Reshma’s challenge updates!

Transcript

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[C]

I wanted to mention this before we even talk to intern Reshma here. You know how we were talking about farmville yesterday?

[E]

Mm, yeah.

[C]

I tweeted this yesterday and I was. I was serious about it. That we got more emails yesterday and more Facebook messages yesterday about farmville than I did about Jeff Dollar. It was a relief to be addressing farmville.

[E]

Right.

[C]

And not Jeff Dollar. Here's what I.

[E]

What was the sentiment most people were mad at?

[C]

People were upset. Man, you don't make fun of farmville, dude.

[E]

Oh, really?

[C]

And here's the reason why Tracy brought this to my attention this morning. Twitter has 18 million subscribers. 18 million.

[D]

It's a lot. It's a lot.

[C]

Farmville has 69 million.

[E]

You're kidding.

[D]

Way.

[C]

Almost 70 million on Farmville. So those that are into it are into it. And I heard from all 69 million yesterday.

[E]

Really?

[C]

They were really upset that we were making fun of them.

[D]

I just don't get it.

[C]

I don't know. It's an obsession, apparently.

[D]

Yeah, I don't understand why. Why you want to have a virtual farm and water your plants every two seconds.

[C]

Doesn't matter. I mean, there. Think about the numbers there. 18 million on Twitter. And we talk about Twitter all the time. It's not even a close race. 70 million on Farmville. And that's why I got so many. I had no idea until we didn't even know what it was until yesterday. Reshma, you know what it is?

[D]

I'm a farmville freak.

[C]

Oh, you are. You're one of them.

[D]

I am. But the thing. The only reason I got into farmville is because my mother, who. Who is currently at home, like in between type of thing, is obsessed with farmville. So one day I was home just off school, no work, no nothing, and she decides to make me get on. And I'm like, kind of a video game nerd. So I was like, if I get onto this, I know I'm gonna get addicted. She will wake me up in the middle of the night, like last night, knowing before I had to come to work to tell me that I had to harvest my crops. I swear. So it's not even that I'm doing it. I feel like I need to stay on for my mother's sanity. No jokes. Yeah. I mean, I could probably get off now and be okay with it and, you know, I had my fun. Yeah, it's a fun game. I'm done. I got what I want.

[E]

What's the point of the game? Nobody wins, right?

[D]

I don't. One of my friends is determined to beat it, but no one I know has beat it yet.

[E]

No one has beat it yet. How do you beat it?

[D]

Like, you know, all video games, there's like an eternal. Like, you can finish it at one point. There's like a giant. You know, like in solitaire, there's cards or whatever. Like, there's that way you can finish it, but no one knows if you can finish farmville. And they keep enhancing it and they'll give new features and stuff. So I think they're just making it. Like people want to keep going until they give up.

[E]

And how much do you pay to play it?

[D]

Nothing.

[C]

Zero. Yeah, exactly.

[E]

How are they making money? Just advertising.

[D]

I don't know. Because there's not much advertising on it. Oh, there is like, a certain feature that, like a lot of the, like, exclusive stuff that you get, you can pay money to get. And like, there's like coins and dollars, and you don't get dollars very often, but all the good stuff comes in dollars. So you can pay money and they'll give you, like, special offers if you buy farmville dollars to buy the extra stuff. So I guess people buy that, but no one I know has ever bought, like, actually paid for the Farmville dollars.

[C]

Well, think about it. With 70 million subscribers, if just 2 million of them gave a dollar for the extra bonuses on it, that's $2 million.

[D]

Yeah. And I've come really close. Like, I consider it. Cause I'll be like, I want that one little Thing for my farm. And I will consider pulling out my credit card and paying for it. So I'm sure there's people that do it.

[C]

Go ahead. Positive. You can Google. I did this yesterday. Farmville addictions.

[E]

Okay.

[C]

And it's all these people like on message boards complaining that their wives aren't paying them attention anymore, they're not paying attention to the kids. People are losing their jobs over it. You get addicted to it.

[E]

Really?

[C]

Yeah, it's nutty, man. And 70 million people are on. So that's why we got so many emails about it.

[D]

Don't understand.

[C]

All right, reshma here has two ideas for 2010. Personal ideas, not really resolutions, but ideas that she's thinking about pulling the trigger on in 2010 that are really pretty unique.

[D]

Yeah, I was just. I'm kind of a nerd. So I was YouTubing and checking out some videos and one of the blogs I follow, I saw this guy who had a video and a bunch of people had commented. So I'm not normally like a person that checks out videos, but it was like a 10 minute video of this guy from some art school and fashion school in California who is dancing for the full 10 minutes. But he's dancing to a hundred different songs. And it's not just. It's a hundred random songs that he likes of different genres, different tempos. Like there's some like Billy Joel in there. There's Lady Gaga. Like it goes all across the board. Cause he's a pretty eclectic. You can tell he's an eclectic guy. Not only that, he shoots the video himself, takes a tripod and a camera and goes to different locations in around his school, home, apartment, city and shoots these videos of him dancing to these songs. And in every single one, he's got a different outfit on. So he's got a different outfit, different song, different location for 100 days. And he cut it and made a compilation of his hundred days and put this video up of like 100 days, hundred songs, 100 locations. And I saw it and I started thinking about it and the past.

[E]

It's a pretty cool idea.

[D]

It's a really cool video too. So I started looking at it and I was kind of envious of him because I have been dancing since I was like 4 years old, except for this past year, which has been really hard for me because I've been so busy and I've had work and working here and then school. And I just haven't had time to be a part of a team or teach or do anything. So I Got really envious because I was like, I want to be that, like, you know, choreographing and dancing and just doing whatever you want. And I got envious of him. And then I started looking at his clothes. And I've always been kind of like a fashion nerd. Like I'm those people that like, I won't do anything to my room, but my closet will be like full packed. Like I could never have enough stuff. And I kid you not, I will never wear like this past semester I haven't worn like probably more than 10% of my clothes. I've gone to like this, you know, when you start repeating outfits, like same pieces and I've been repeating the same stuff. But I will go shopping every week and I just buy more and more. So it kind of made me envious of the fact that he got to wear all these cool clothes. And then it was like a self thing. Not that he got to show it to everyone and he got popularity. Cause obviously that's a perk, but more for himself. Like you could tell he was dancing for himself, he's happy for himself, he's doing them for himself. Like some of the videos are shot like in a urinal or in a stairwell. Like it's not anything like elaborate.

[C]

Right. But it still gets 4 million hits.

[D]

Yeah, I mean it got like. Yeah. So I got kind of envious of him and I started thinking, I was like, what if I challenge myself for 2010 to try and do this like hundred day thing? And it's like at first I was like, okay, it's easy. But I started thinking about like my day to day routine and I was like, I would have to find a different location. Not saying it'd be like, you know, like the studio. Like he did different rooms in his apartment or different backgrounds. So not too elaborate. But I'd have to get a tripod, pick a song, and then dance to the entire song every day. Not only that, it would also force me to wear a different outfit and utilize my closet.

[C]

The outfit part of this whole thing, when we read about it, fascinated Jen and Wendy and Melissa also.

[E]

Didn't you do this in high school?

[D]

In high school, I had a bet with my friend senior year that I wouldn't repeat a single outfit any day. And I won and not won. And I actually couldn't carry it out through the summer because I was so used to it. Like I saw something and I was like, okay, don't wear it. Like I wouldn't throw stuff away, I

[E]

just would do it you never repeated an outfit. So would you rematch a shirt with a different pair of pants or a skirt with a different shirt?

[D]

Yeah, I would, but not to the point where you could tell it was the same piece. Like, I wouldn't wear bold pieces the same way. Like, I'm, I. I'm not trying to, like, blow my eagle, but I can, like, you know, manipulate, like, clothes and stuff. And I'm pretty handy with a sewing machine, so I would kind of edit it or alter it.

[C]

Oh. So that I would change it.

[D]

Like, I would change the buttons on vests. They wouldn't be so the same thing. Or change earrings or stuff like that.

[E]

Wow, that's really fascinating because I think for a girl, we do spend so much time thinking about what we're going to wear. I mean, I know I think about it the night before I go to bed, you know, before work the next day. I usually try to pull my clothes so I'm not like scrambling in the morning. But we put a lot of thought into what we're gonna wear every single day. But even when we repeat outfits, to me, I think it's a lot of thought.

[D]

Yeah.

[E]

And a lot of time and a

[D]

lot of energy and a lot of effort.

[E]

It was a lot to me.

[D]

It made different, like, it was like I would get up in the morning, spend that extra, like, hour getting ready, but I would have a better day. It was kinda like one of those working out things. Like, you know, when you work out, you feel better. Like me getting ready and feeling good about myself, not caring. Like, obviously there was days where I looked horrible, but to me, I felt good because I put my outfit together. Like, it's just like a confidence thing. And I feel like you can wear something if you feel like you look good in it. If other people don't like it, it doesn't matter. As long as you feel like you look good, it's okay. And it would boost my ego. I'm kind of cocky.

[E]

That's awesome.

[C]

I love that Jen is more interested in the outfit thing and I'm really interested in the dance thing.

[E]

I'm interested in both. I mean, I think both would be amazing to have to do it every single day. I know that's no days off.

[D]

That's what kills me.

[E]

Saturdays, Sundays, you can sleep in, whatever, but at some point you've got to go and dance.

[C]

Three straight months of full dancing, of planning. No matter what's going on in your life, you've gotta set up that tripod

[D]

and you gotta get it. There's like, things going on the next couple months where I was thinking about this, like, when the new year rolled around, everyone's like, what's your new year resolution? I was like, I don't know yet. They're like, I just wanna dance. I just wanna dance. But my sister's getting married in March, and I'm gonna be going over there. So I'll be in California for a little bit, and then I'm traveling. You know, it's like senior year, so I've got, like, weekend trips everywhere. So I'll be, like, up at it. Like, I'm going to the cabin with my friends in a couple weeks. I gotta, like, take it up there and, like, shoot. At the cabin?

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

Like, you know, just random things I thought about. I was like, well, if I do it, it'd have to be a really big commitment.

[C]

But it sounds like a great idea on paper. But actually executing 100 days, I know of it consecutively would be a really tough, tough challenge.

[D]

And I wouldn't do it. Like, this guy.

[E]

I was gonna say, I would bet you would learn a lot about yourself.

[D]

Yeah.

[E]

And doing it.

[D]

I know. And I thought about it, and instead of just doing, like, the hundred clips and, like, keeping to myself, I thought to motivate myself, I have a blog that I never use. And, like, you know, teachers always tell you to start a blog for your professional career. So I was like, maybe that way, if I have a blog and I'm, like, putting them up every day, it'll keep me, like, oh, I have to do it today. I have to put up for my blog. Like, my friends will bug me or my sisters will bug me, like, there's someone on my tail about it.

[C]

All right, let's give you motivation to do this, because we are going to be launching a new website in, like, two weeks. And if you want to be part of that, we would give you the forum to do it. So somewhere on our webpage would be, you know, Reshma's Hundred Dances and outfits in 100 days. And you would be responsible for updating that thing every day. And if you didn't, we would have to come down on you on it, because that would be part of your.

[E]

It would be the listeners, because they'll

[C]

start to get invested in it and see where you're dancing and how you're dancing and what outfit you have on,

[E]

and they'll make sure you're not wearing the same outfit.

[D]

I know. And now that I said that, I'm really nervous because, like, I was thinking about my closet just now, and I was like, what if I repeat pieces and someone's like, you Wore that? Day 36. Day 36. Like, makes me really nervous now. But you do have two weeks to plan, so two weeks until it starts.

[C]

If you want to do it, we'll give you a couple of days to think about if you really want to take it seriously.

[E]

I think it would be awesome, but

[C]

it would help us out because we've got the new website that's launched and so people would go to see you, but you'd have to be consistent about it. It would help you out too.

[E]

Yeah.

[D]

No, I think it's just. It's one of those things where I want to do it to make myself happy. Like, I'm all about. My motivation is life, to do things to make me happy. Clothes make me happy. Dancing make me happy. This sounds amazing. So it sounds really good and I really want to try it.

[C]

Think about it. I'm gonna think about it before you commit because it would be a pretty big commitment.

[D]

I know.

[E]

Once you're in your three months, do you have the video camera and the equipment you will need?

[D]

I have a video camera. I have a tripod, but I'm sure I could find one.

[E]

We can figure that out for you.

[C]

All right. All right. Maybe next week. Just tell us if you want to do it or not.

[D]

I will.

[C]

And we'll pull the trigger on it or not.

[A]

Get it.

[C]

The Bird show.

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