Facebook in the Hot Seat Again

Nowadays, it seems that Facebook can’t seem to distance itself from controversy surrounding modifications and enhancements to its social media service. In recent news, executives have implemented a monetary fee for persons who wish to direct message fellow users who are not considered their “friends” on Facebook. For example, an Average Joe who attempts to message Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, would receive the following response; “You aren’t connected to Mark on Facebook, so your message would normally get filtered to his other folder.” You are then prompted with two options: send the message directly to his inbox for $100 or send the message to his “other” folder.

According to a Facebook statement, these fees have been implemented in an attempt to gauge filtration of spam to user in-boxes.  In addition, this monetary enhancement is a potential revenue stream for the company as they expand in the market place. With this in mind, you certainly can’t blame Facebook execs for finding new ways to secure solid cash flow; however, how much is this idea really worth?

In the wake of recent claims that Facebook is scouting new revenue streams to appease wary investors, one has to wonder where the company’s true focus lies. Yes, happy investors = solid financial backing, but what’s the sense if you’re pissing off your core user base with highfalutin fees? Moreover, you also have to wonder, does this idea even make any sense? Realistically, this fee only guarantees that the message will be sent to a user’s in-box; there’s no telling if the recipient will even respond to your message.  So, what’s the point?

Do Facebook execs think that they can literally buy our need for communication? A few ads and sponsored posts on our home pages are tolerable. This latest attempt stoops to an all time low for gains and profits at the expense of our natural need to communicate.