Facebook tests new payment system to charge users for messaging
Social networking website Facebook is to begin charging British users up to 10 to contact celebrities, public figures or new people they meet.
The website is testing a new system for private messaging, with a sliding scale of fees for members based on their number of followers and how many others are paying to contact them.
The proposed payments are aimed at preventing users being bombarded with "spam" messages, according to the website.
Facebook has previously allowed members to send messages from their account to strangers for free.
While it originally put them automatically into a user's inbox, it has recently begun storing them in a less conspicuous "other" message box, leaving the inbox just for friends and family.
In December last year, the website tested a new system of charging $1 for over-18s to send messages to strangers' inboxes with an automatic alert, meaning they would be more likely to be read.
It has now extended the trial to create a sliding scale of payments to celebrities, public figures and ordinary users outside the sender's usual network.
Fans wishing to send messages to Olympic diver Tom Daley could be charged 10.68, while those hoping to contact author Salman Rushie could pay 10.08, according to the Sunday Times.
A spokesman for Facebook confirmed the new system was undergoing a trial period, insisting it is aimed at preventing spam.
"The system of paying to message non-friends in their inbox is designed to prevent spam while acknowledging that sometimes you might want to hear from people outside your immediate social circle," Facebook said in a statement.
"We are testing a number of price points in the UK and other countries to establish the optimal fee that signals importance."
Another one
Facebook is giving select users in nearly 40 countries around the world access to a trial service that will charge them a fee for sending direct, personal messages to people outside their network.
That means that if you've been trying to get in touch with your favorite celebrity or a secret crush in the office who doesn't know your name, Facebook (FB) may be able to help you out.
Facebook has been testing the pay-to-message concept for some time in the United States.
The price for sending a direct Facebook message will vary based on a number of different factors, including the popularity of the person you're trying to contact and how many other messages are sent their way.
Related: The Facebook phone is here -- sort of
The company said it was still deciding on pricing for the test service, but U.K. media reports say prices will range from the equivalent of about $1 to $15. A small number of users in countries such as the U.K., Australia and Israel would be included in the trial.
"The system of paying to message non-friends in their Facebook inbox is designed to prevent spam, while acknowledging that sometimes you might want to hear from people outside your immediate social circle," said a Facebook spokesperson.
But celebrities won't have to worry about a deluge of messages hitting their personal Facebook inboxes just yet. Facebook will limit the number of paid messages a user can receive to one per week.
Users can still send messages to people who are outside of their network for free, but those messages will continue to be routed to a junk folder called the "other" folder, which users rarely read and review.
In December, the company explored the possibility of charging users $100 to send messages to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and other top Facebook executives, such as COO Sheryl Sandburg.
Edited by .Shona93 - 12 years ago
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