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Bigdan Nigeria I'm Jobless writing stories @ Guardian of Planet Mars
In Literature, Writing and Blogging • 2 min read •
The Digital Farm

Once upon a time, there was a farm unlike any other.


There were no fences or barns. Every animal carried a glowing screen. Every screen had one magical button called Share.


On this farm lived a wise Owl. Whenever the Owl spoke, the animals nodded politely... then scrolled away.


There was also a hardworking Ant. Every day, the Ant shared useful lessons. Few animals noticed.


Then there was the Rooster.


Every morning, the Rooster climbed onto a stump and shouted the funniest, most confident nonsense anyone had ever heard.


The Monkey laughed until it rolled on the ground.


The Parrot repeated every word.


The Sheep gathered in hundreds.


"Come and hear this!" they shouted.


Soon, the whole farm was watching.


The Rooster became the biggest star on the farm.


One day, the Owl called for a meeting.


"We have a problem," the Owl said. "This farm is rewarding ignorance."


The animals nodded.


"The Rooster is destroying the farm," cried the Goat.


"He is the reason wisdom no longer matters," added the Donkey.


Just then, a quiet Fox, who had been listening all along, stood up and asked one simple question.


"If the Rooster is the problem..."


"...who kept showing up every morning to hear him crow?"


The farm fell silent.


The Monkey looked at the Sheep.


The Sheep looked at the Parrot.


The Parrot looked away.


No one answered.


The Fox continued.


"The Rooster never forced anyone to gather."


"He only crowed."


"You laughed."


"You shared."


"You called others to watch."


"You made him famous."


Another silence filled the farm.


That day, the animals learnt something uncomfortable.


The Rooster did not build his stage.


The audience did.


Maybe the Digital Farm was never rewarding ignorance.


Maybe it was rewarding attention.


And attention has never cared whether something is wise or foolish.


It only asks one question:


"Will people stop and watch?"


Perhaps that is the real lesson of our time.


Every like is a vote.


Every share is a campaign poster.


Every comment, even the angry ones, tells the world, "Give me more of this."


So before we blame the next Olodo for becoming famous, maybe we should ask ourselves a harder question.


Who kept jamming palms?


Only after the meeting ended did the oldest animals remember another farm, from another story, written many years ago by George Orwell.


That's How went from TheAnimal Farm to The Digital Farm.


Ain't We All Animals?


He ended it with these haunting words:


"The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig... but already it was impossible to say which was which."


Today, we look from the Olodo to the audience, and from the audience back to the Olodo...


...and it is becoming increasingly difficult to tell who created whom.


~ Olodo or Not... It's the same Farm.


Competition entry | The Olodo Uprising

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A Tip For These Audience?

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