TechTrends: Get Ready to Pay Up – Facebook May Start Charging for Status Updates

Did you know that out of a possible 5000 allowed friends on your personal Facebook page, only about 12% of them will ever see your status updates?  Currently, the social network’s algorithm is designed for you to see the updates of friends you interact with the most, or updates that get a lot of ‘Likes’ or comments.  So now Facebook is trying to change that – but it’s gonna cost you.

Facebook has already rolled out a trial of its new “Highlight” feature, which would allow you to promote status updates to get more visibility among your friends.  When a post is highlighted, it can appear higher in the news feed, it will stay on the news feed for a longer time, and it will show up in the feeds of more friends and subscribers.  Cost to highlight a status update? $2.

The way I see it, there are pros and cons to this new initiative.  As reported in TechCrunch, if someone had a legitimate need to get the most views on their status update, this could be invaluable.  For example, Facebook also recently added a feature that allows users to share their organ donor status on their page.  If someone was in need of a kidney, it would be in their best interest to get that message out to as many potential donors as possible.  But even if your situation wasn’t life-threatening, you may still want to broadcast the fact that you’re looking for an apartment or job to the largest number of friends you could as well.  The downside to this is that it leaves the option open to be abused.  Will your news feed get filled up with only those friends that can afford to pay?

At any rate, the idea that you might have to start paying anything may turn a lot of people off to the idea and maybe to Facebook altogether.  Let us know what you think – would you pay for ‘highlighted’ status updates?

13 Comments

  1. ironically when i heard the news this morning of facebook going public and how much money they need to raise to keep the investors happy – i figured it was the beginning of the end. i use it to communicate with friends – not be inundated with ads.

    1. Author

      Hey Rachel! You’re right about fundraising, as Facebook currently doesn’t have a revenue model at all for the mobile app. I guess they gotta do something – I just don’t think this is it. Thanks for your comment!

      -steph

  2. I dislike the current timeline changes made by Facebook. I would discontinue my FB membership if they began to charge for most things on the website. However I do see the value in using FB for advertising a service, idea or product one is trying to promote.

    1. Author

      Hey R!

      I think we can all agree that the new timeline is not a fave, LOL! I do wonder about those folks with fan pages for themselves/businesses. Depending on cost, it still might be worth it. Thanks for your comment!

      -steph

  3. Tweeter here we come!. Good bye greedy Facebook!.

    1. Author

      It’s always something with Facebook isn’t it? First the new timeline that everyone hates, now this! I’m a big fan of Twitter too, but I’m not ready to totally jump ship just yet. Thanks for your comment Claudia!

      -steph

  4. Hell to tha No! Fb surfing “can” get time consuming…this could be that reason to go “cold turkey”

    1. Author

      I agree Scott, you can waste a whole day on Facebook! I don’t know if I’m ready to go cold turkey, but I may have to put myself on a “fb diet” LOL! Thanks for your comment!

      -steph

  5. No I would not pay. We have more than enough places to go to network n it is free…… Global 14 is one

    1. Author

      Hey Porcelain,

      you’re absolutely right about that! Some folks do pay for premium services on Linkedin so I’d be curious if fb offered something for the money whether folks might pay. Thank you so much for your comment!

      -steph

  6. The day Facebook charges for anything is the day my account is deleted permanently

    1. Author

      I hear you Erica! It would be a little difficult for me, as I do use fb for business purposes too. I guess some hard choices would have to be made. Thanks for your comment!

      -steph

Leave a Reply to steph Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *