Facebook is testing a system which charges users to
send messages to people that they
aren’t already connected to, with a premium to be paid for contacting very popular people.
The company
confirmed Friday that trials have
already begun for the new
service, but that only a small number of Facebook users currently have access to the option to pay to
send a direct message.
Every user currently has the
ability to send a message to any
other user for free, however
unless being sent to a friend or friend of a friend the message goes directly to
the receiver's 'other' folder.
Described by Facebook as the place 'where less relevant messages go,' this
little known option was introduced in 2010. The new
service offers direct access to the receiver's inbox, provided the sender
is prepared to pay the fee
.
A technological analyst with Mashable was surprised when they attempted
to send a message to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg
and received an option charging a hefty $100 fee to send a
message directly to the social network's CEO. Zuckerberg has more than 16
million followers on the site and
without paying for a direct message to his inbox, any message would go straight
to his extremely overcrowded ‘other’ folder.
The
company admits it is experimenting with ‘extreme price points' to reduce
incoming spam for Facebook users with large subscriber
counts and big online presences. Users are also limited to sending one of these
kinds of messages per week.
Facebook is confident that imposing a financial
cost on the sender will be the most effective way to discourage unwanted
messages and best ensure the delivery of messages that are relevant and useful to the
receiver.
* mark abeg no dey tempt people, damn, hahahahahah*
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