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Facebook Fees?
The dirty little, not-so-hidden secret in the Web 2.0 world is that most companies still haven’t figured out a way to successfully monetize their biz. Even Facebook and its multi-gajillion dollar valuation has not defined a sustainable revenue plan. The rumors that Facebook needs to raise more capital are all over the place like a ‘ho in Vegas. This need for a capital infusion allegedly exists in spite of the fact that Facebook raised a whopping $235 million last year. Yowzer.
Monetization through social media advertising appears to be more difficult than getting Amy Winehouse to put down the crack pipe. According to a recent IDC report, while 79% of consumers clicked on an online ad, only about 57% of consumers clicked on social network ads. Even worse, social network peeps make about half as many purchases. So much for Beacon. It’s time for Plan B. Nobody wants to keep going back to a Big Daddy for more money. It’s time to grow up and stand on your own two financial feet.
Listen, I wasn’t smart enough to get into an Ivy league school like Mr. Zuckerberg. I went to a less that notable state school (UMASS Dartmouth) and wear that fact as a badge of honor. I don’t pretend for a nanosecond to be smarter than Zuckerberg, his executive team or his investors. But I feel like there is an obvious and completely acceptable solution to the Facebook monetization problem: charge members a ridiculously modest monthly fee. Facebook now has 120 million members. If they charged everyone $1/mo, the company would have an instant annual revenue stream of close to $1.5 billion. Do the math on what happens to that revenue stream if the fee is $2/mo or even $5/mo. There are lots of other revenue generating options like the possibility of charging for a premium service or an ad-free experience, but let’s not try to solve world hunger the first time we pick up the fork. Facebook needs to earn some cabbage in the short-term to buy time while they figure out how Beacon and/or Connect can augment any user-generated monetization program.
Am I missing something? It sounds too easy. Again, by no means do I think I got anything going on over the Facebook gang. However, as a non-venture backed entrepreneur, I had to figure out and deliver a profitable business model pretty damn quickly.
I can’t imagine my life without Facebook in it. I’m a freakin’ Facebook addict. I’m not alone. Sure some small percentage of members would refuse to pay, but that ends up being a rounding error when calculated on 120 million peeps. Once you try Facebook, there is no going back. It’s crackalackin’ and I think people will pay for it.
Would you be willing to pay a modest monthly fee for Facebook?
December 1st, 2008 at 1:14 pm
I’d never ever ever ever pay for a facebook account. There will always be newer and more effective social networking tools that are free when the giants decide they want to charge. Competition is a beautiful thing
December 1st, 2008 at 1:28 pm
I’d pay $1/month for facebook, or certainly $5/year. I’m sure a lot of people just wouldn’t bother to give them their credit card details, esp those who use it much less frequently. But honestly, it seems like a decent idea for me.
December 1st, 2008 at 1:29 pm
jr, you must have incredible patience. the challenge with newer sites is that all your posse hasn’t migrated to them yet. makes for a lonely experience. i think they will also face the ugly reality of needing to monetize at some point. anyhoot, i respect your perspective. i could be completely wrong. wouldn’t be the first time and certainly won’t be the last. haha!
December 1st, 2008 at 1:39 pm
jen, i’m happy you would pay. my facebook experience just wouldn’t be the same without you on my friend list. lol! you do bring up a very interesting point regarding the credit card. the majority of facebook membership growth is coming from the “older” crowd. someone like my dad certainly wouldn’t give out a credit card number and forget about paypal. too much complexity for him. interesting insight. thanks!
December 1st, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Great Post! I think I would pay $12 a year for facebook. I would also pay for twitter as well! I think they are more concerned about market share than rev right now which does not make sense to me but I did not go to an Ivy League school either…lol
Thx
James
twitter: Jamesatbabyspot
December 1st, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Hello Kel. Great post. I’d definitely pay a $1/mo or $5/year and I think you said it well in that saying people will want to stay where there users are and all companies will run into the issue at some point. The only issue I could see would be if MySpace didn’t charge then maybe people would migrate there…even though it’s inferior in my opinion. If they both charge – I’d cancel MySpace and move to Facebook and finally be free of my dual profile life (YAY!).
December 1st, 2008 at 3:08 pm
james, i would pay for twitter too. maybe twitter and facebook could partner and offer a bundled deal. ha! maybe not given twitter allegedly just turned down a $500mm offer to be bought by facebook. something tells me facebook is looking good on the marketshare front. soon they will need to go to mars to find new members.
December 1st, 2008 at 3:16 pm
rebecca, your myspace thought is an interesting one. i feel like facebook is eating myspace’s lunch because they are more about connecting people in a way that can’t be achieved in the physical world. i don’t maintain a myspace profile, so i have already made the leap. another interesting thought would be to ponder the implications to other social media sites if facebook charged users. i feel like the investment community would say, “well if facebook can’t monetize their biz through advertising then you (other players) certainly won’t be able to.” it could have crippling implications on other web 2.0 players, many of whom are already struggling to find capital during a down economy. i guess time will tell. thanks for your response rebecca!
December 1st, 2008 at 5:33 pm
I like this post (and the dialog of comments), Kel, because making money in the Web 2.0 world is definitely an intriguing conundrum.
That said, the facebook user in me is with JR. I’m just too stubborn. If facebook started to charge, I’d use it as an excuse to finally sign off for good. I’ve been on facebook for 4+ years. Hey!-Maybe they should only charge new members, thus rewarding the college kids who got them started in the first place! (stream of consciousness idea there, feel free to disregard)
Anyways, even if I am hesitant about where facebook may be heading, I do think you will end up being right about this monetization movement, especially with your point of marketshare. And who knows, maybe I’ll get used to the idea before they actually institute the fee
)
December 2nd, 2008 at 4:03 am
Great post!
That is a very good question. Some other points.
If facebook charges, then other services like twitter and myspace will start charging and then prices across the board go up? That doesn’t sound like something I would be into. I feel a slippery slope coming on. I know many people who are “whatever” about facebook, and they’d drop out on a dime.
So, I think there are other alternatives that should be considered before a user bailout through charging:
Put nicer “billboard” decorative adds. Like a decorative cup of tea for Tetley, or some fancy mail order only chocolates that you could buy for your friends, or gourmet Italian coffee pots that you can order. Cool, interesting, artistically done ads. People who do social media seem to like their beverages and cool toys. Why not feature them as an integral part of a cool background or a subtle sideboard instead of the tacky, ugly way things are usually presented now? I’d be more inclined to look at something seamlessly beautiful and artistic than the brashness you find everywhere. If done right, I might even start clicking on ads in facebook for a change, but for now, they just p me off.
How about charging the “pros” who just want to go on facebook to flog their stuff at other people? Make em pay. Like how guys have to pay to get in clubs, but girls get in free.
Just don’t go with the privacy infiltrating scams that has led facebook to so much trouble.
A buck a month doesn’t sound like much, but I’m afraid of the slippery slope. I’m afraid that once the profits start rolling in the executive of the corporatocracy starts figuring out better ways to milk the cow and buy their private jets.
How is wikipedia doing with the donation thing? How about having a wall of facebook “sponsors”? Like with PBS, you have donation drives and prizes and such? You could have different tiers of sponsors, and maybe have different bells and whistles as a result. Instead of ads, banners would thank so and so for their generous contribution to help keep facebook going? How about a suggested donation, where there is an average suggested price to donate per year if you use the site, but if you can’t pay (because you are a single mom living in some 3rd world contry) you can still use the service?
The thing is, I think part of the growth of these sites happened in the first place BECAUSE they were free. I probably would not have joined Facebook or other social media if I had to pay.
For now, I see user fees as a last ditch option. Can’t they come up with something more subtle and creative than that?
Maria
December 2nd, 2008 at 8:14 am
erin, thanks for your humorous perpsective. i’m surprised to hear that people like you and jr wouldn’t spend $1/mo. i originally thought it wasn’t so much about charging a fee but the amount of the fee. i have heard from a few that the fee doesn’t matter, it’s more the act. very interesting insight. thanks again!
December 2nd, 2008 at 8:26 am
maria, you have a lot of interesting ideas. your point about the slippery slope is a biggie and i couldn’t agree more. once one company takes the step to charge i expect a landslide of web 2.0 companies will follow. we just watched it happen with the airlines and charging for bags. i would be very interested to see what happened with an opt-in fee. that in itself would provide the company tremendous insight. thanks again for taking the time to post!
December 2nd, 2008 at 8:43 am
Ye gads, Kel…don’t feed into the rumors. They could become true. You seem sympathetic toward fees! Let them sell advertising, Adwords or ad something…I don’t need another auto charge to my credit cards…
December 2nd, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Amazing how the simplest thing possible is the last thing implemented. I’m more surprised that Facebook hasn’t started a tiered service. What exactly would you pay for different things? I, for example, would not pay for things like groups or wall posts or apps but others might. At the same time the ability to communicate through messages and contact info (I’m really enjoying the Phonebook feature) is worth a small fee. I wouldn’t want to lose all of that information. What do you think, could a tiered system work?
December 2nd, 2008 at 4:41 pm
john, your response made me smile. the only thing i am sympathetic to would be a world without facebook. i’m all about an advertising model. the challenge is it’s just not working at this point. i don’t think you need to worry about a facebook autocharge right now. can’t guarantee that in the future. long live web 2.0 and the free lunch that comes with it. ha!
December 2nd, 2008 at 4:47 pm
alex, i do think a tiered system could work if it was ridiculously simple. i think too many options would turn people off. another challenge is that until someone is immersed in facebook, it is hard to know what they would want and/or not want. facebook would probably need to offer new users all features for free for some amount of time and then time bomb them. at that point, members could decide what they would want to pay for moving forward. lots to think about. thanks for your post.
December 3rd, 2008 at 11:28 am
I would definitely pay a fee to use facebook! I am not sure what I would set my upper threshold at but I think I would do…um….perhaps $5/month…
December 3rd, 2008 at 11:42 am
Love the dialog Kel- keep it coming.
I echo the earlier comments about the tiered system, with a little twist. (work with me here). I like Linkedin’s model. Most of the users don’t pay a fee, put the power users (aka recruiters) don’t mind paying the fee for a few more bells and whistles- after all, it’s for business right?
So how about starting off my charging “groups” or “pages” a fee first? Plenty of companies and organizations out there have groups or pages set up to there to promote their brand- if they want to promote it, why not charge them? Even if its a small nonprofit- say a church group, alumni organization or even a fantasy football league, $1 a month ($12 a year) isn’t too much to swallow.
December 3rd, 2008 at 12:05 pm
Hells no I wouldnt pay. Like the tiered approach, tho. Free for slobs like me. But you want video? Pony up. Into groups? Ca-ching. Put it out there…power to the people baby. I can see it now. Zuckerberg charters private jet to beg congress for a bailout.
December 3rd, 2008 at 12:36 pm
I would pay $12/year for facebook & twitter. Business is business and they both provide a valuable service. I also agree that LinkedIn provides a good model for the tier service. Great blog post.
December 3rd, 2008 at 1:09 pm
I’d pay up to 5 bucks a month if they lose all the ads and applications, but for now, i like it as it is.
December 3rd, 2008 at 1:13 pm
jerry, judging from other responses, at $5 you are the big spender in the group. haha! listen, i would pay your facebook fee if you promised never to bring those cards to boot camp again. ugh!
December 3rd, 2008 at 1:41 pm
tyson, i like your thinking. other sites like gather.com monetize through sponsorship of group pages. and as you mentioned, even a modest fee adds up. great idea!
December 3rd, 2008 at 1:44 pm
shane, you always make me laugh! i am not surprised facebook would be unsuccessful in prying a buck out of your wallet. i want you to be appointed to the bailout committee in washington. that would certainly stop all this madness!
December 3rd, 2008 at 1:45 pm
deb, sounds like another shout out for a bundled offering. buy one get one (bogo) works well in retail. why not in web 2.0. lol!
December 3rd, 2008 at 1:47 pm
mike, i’m interested to hear the ads bother you. they are really white noise in my experience, but i know others who feel the same way you do. judging from the idc report facebook would certainly be making more from you at $5/mo than they would from ads nobody is clicking on.
December 3rd, 2008 at 5:47 pm
I wonder if those that pay for bottled water would pay for an ad-free experience on facebook. haha
i would pay for facebook, but there would need to be some other benefit other than just using the site. once/if they start charging, what would stop them from raising their prices…would just open up a stinky can of worms imo
December 3rd, 2008 at 7:45 pm
ben, the bottled water comment is too funny. my dad thinks i’m dripping in luxury because i drink bottled water. huh? he’s a product of the depression. sigh. what other benefit would you want if they began charging a fee? maybe concierge services. tee-hee!
December 3rd, 2008 at 9:44 pm
I’d pay for facebook now that I’m completely addicted to it. Before that, I’d be turned off by a fee. I’m a little confused about people feeling OK to pay for Twitter. I just joined that and it seems a little, um pointless? Basically facebook meets my social networking needs, and I’d pay a small fee for it.
December 4th, 2008 at 9:14 am
karen, glad to hear from a fellow facebook addict. we peeps have to stick together. twitter is equally as addicting. you just need time to build up followers and people you follow. it makes the experience richer. you will achieve junkie status in no time.
December 10th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
I would pay a nominal fee for FB as I cannot live w/o it now, but I do worry that I’ll lose a ton of friends who won’t pay and that would be a shame. So many elementary school, high school & college friends are back in my life thanks to FB. I’ve made tons of new friends too.
I don’t get Twitter at all. I have an acct. on there but I have no idea what it’s purpose is.
December 10th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
jojo, thanks for posting. you bring up an interesting point. if you were to pay and a large chunk of your friends didn’t, i wonder if your facebook experience would then diminish to the point where you didn’t want to continue paying. interesting thought. probably impossible to predict the answer until you are actually in the moment. hopefully that will never happen because it will be free forever!
March 26th, 2009 at 5:45 am
One big problem with that though, is that while only a small percentage might outright refuse to pay and leave, it doesn’t take into consideration the fact that a much higher percentage consists of minors. Most websites don’t have payment options other than paypal or a credit card, neither of which most minors have access to.
March 26th, 2009 at 8:49 am
rach, good point. however, if you are the parent of a teenager, you are probably well accustomed to letting them use your credit card for online purchases like itunes. sigh.
June 4th, 2009 at 10:53 pm
I agree with the other. I would never pay for facebook. Adding a charge would only encourage me to move on to the next free social networking site. Facebook has a lot of nerve to think all of their members are going cough up real money to pay for their service when there are tons of other sites aching to steal facebook customers.
June 8th, 2009 at 7:10 am
arthur, thanks for the comment. a lot of people feel the same way you do. it will be interesting to see how this plays out. there may be plenty of other free social networking sites today, but all need to figure out how to monetize in order to stay alive.
October 13th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
Kel – Your blog was pointed out to me by the lovely Janet, and I must say I absolutely love it (and not just because you’re my boss’s boss). I read a few of the entries, but this one definitely caught my eye, probably due to the fact that I’m still in college, live and breath Facebook, and count my pennies. Not only do does Facebook hold a place on my bookmark toolbar on Safari, but it’s also taking up space on my itouch and palm centro. Thank God, there is an app for that.
That being said, I can’t say I would pay for Facebook. I joined as soon as I received a college email, when .edu was the only email ending Facebook would accept. Since that day, nearly 4 years ago, Facebook has transformed into an open network. Although I can see the professional and economic benefits to the expansion, Facebook has ultimately lost it’s original purpose: to give college students a forum to network with other students. Introducing a fee, in my opinion, will take Facebook one more step away from their original audience.
While I expect several college students would be receptive to the idea to pay a small fee per month, I’d point out that a majority of them will not be. We count pennies to pay for beer at $2 beer night and $1 pizza at the local bar. We constantly complain about being broke and praise the school when we can use our meal plan to pay for Dunkin’ Donuts or Starbucks Coffee. Instituting a fee for a well-known free service will ultimately push college students into a new network. Hmmm…maybe, if Facebook does charge, my techy boyfriend can become the next Mr. Zuckerberg?
Just a thought on the subject from a broke, college student.
October 15th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
ronni, i love your insight. sometimes we forget that even $1 month is considered too expensive for college students. i’m sure facebook has their pulse on this and it is one of the many reasons they haven’t begun charging. truthfully, i can’t understand why the college students haven’t bailed already given their parents — and even grandparents — have now invaded this space. haha!
October 25th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
i have over 100 ppl on my list on facebook…and neither they nor i will pay a single red cent…once they charge…ill go else where…theres always another site out there waiting to be played on…and facebook can take their charges and shove it….its sad that in the economy were in they wanna take the very things that keep us happy…and sane….welcome to obama era economics
October 27th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
josh, you are certainly not alone in your opinion. i have heard from many other readers who feel the same way. the good news is that it looks like facebook will look to monetize the business through b2b programs. this means you and your 100+ friends can continue to eat the free lunch facebook is serving. enjoy…
November 11th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
i wouldn’t pay a dime on for facebook account i would leave and also i would think everybody else might start not charging just to keep people happy or others would charge and lots of people will leave all profile like websites (facebook myspace beebo etc.)
etc etc etc
November 13th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
t, the question is about monetization. at some point, everyone needs to make money. i’m glad my biz doesn’t require i have 300 million customers before i start to make money. ha!
December 3rd, 2009 at 5:55 pm
i think its bs that they will be charging people on facebook, its disgusting that people will try to make money off of everything.i hope the majority of users refuse to pay
December 4th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
jamie, you are not alone in that opinion. the problem is that they need to figure out how to make money or they won’t be able to sustain. since i wrote this post, it looks like fb is starting to demonstrate an ability to monetize through its advertising. fingers crossed that they continue to see success through that model! thanks for your comment.
December 27th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
If they would offer ads that were of value then they might generate some decent rev and could remain a free social site. With that said I would also pay the 12 leaves a year to have an ad-free experience, $5 a month is WAY too high. Great blog ~
December 27th, 2009 at 7:12 pm
In this economy, adding another charge isn’t a wise choice. Facebook has allowed many to reconnect with their past friends and family members. I don’t want to lose touch, but I won’t pay fees. I am addicted to Facebook and the games, but…maybe I’ll get my life back if fees are charged. I’ll have to find another way to reconnect with people from my past. This would be too sad! I didn’t think that Facebook would be important to me, but in just a few short months it has become an important part of my life. Financially I wouldn’t be able to add a monthly commitment to support Facebook. That’s what ads are for. Make the ads more appealing and maybe then the money will flow!
December 27th, 2009 at 10:04 pm
Would I pay to use FaceBook? No.
Simply because 99.9% of the people on FaceBook, I met on FaceBook and do not know anywhere else.
I don’t have fun playing FaceBook games. They run slowly, are basically a mindless clickfest, and with recent cuts to the gifting system, I can’t give gifts to my FB friends anymore.
If they want to charge a user fee for FaceBook (or plaster it with ads) to generate revenue, they need to make the thing worth paying for. If they do one without the other, I’ll take my three real life friends and go elsewhere.
December 27th, 2009 at 10:43 pm
I wouldn’t remain a FB user with a fee. In fact, if there had been a fee to begin with, I’d have never joined.
Go ahead, apply a fee – I have other places to go.. it would only increase my productivity.
December 28th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
Why would anyone pay to post/read useless uninteresting comments on a website? It’s just crazy how people get over something as mindless as posting their thoughts on the internet. Wouldn’t pay for it if it were $0.10 a month. I got along before it was here, I’ll done fine without it.
December 28th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
Nope, would not pay for Facebook. We’ll all find other places to move to. (shrug) However, this is only speculation at this time.
December 29th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
elta, thanks for your comment. in the year since i wrote this post, it looks like they are starting to figure out the ad model. i am interested in hearing what you think a “decent ad” would be. let me know your thoughts. happy new year!
December 29th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
betty, right now it looks like there are no signs that fees are forthcoming. i love your comment about being “addicted to facebook.” i’m curious to hear about what you mean when you say “get your life back.” i feel like facebook has enhanced my life versus become a drain — although, i don’t play a lot of games. do you think connecting with friends or the games are more time consuming? interested to hear your perspective.
December 29th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
wes, i was surprised to hear you say that 99.9% of the people you met on facebook and didn’t know elsewhere. i believe facebook s primarily used by people connecting with people who they know and/or knew. myspace was more of the troll for friends model. do you meet people through facebook groups? i’m interested to hear more of your thoughts.
December 29th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
quentin, thanks for the comment. do you believe you could duplicate a facebook-like experience through another medium/platform? in other words, where else would you go? i have yet to find anything that delivers a similar experience and i’m curious to hear more about your thinking.
December 29th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
dkelly20, i have a completely different perspective than you — not a better one, just different. i don’t view my interaction with my friends as “uninteresting comments.” i truly enjoy the dialogue, photo and video exchanges. i feel like facebook lets me connect with the people i care about in a way that can’t be achieved in the physical world. maybe you need new friends. haha.
December 29th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
foghamar, see my response above to quentin. i’m curious as to where else you would go. do tell…inquiring minds want to know…
December 29th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
I don’t do myspace, and wouldn’t even be on facebook if I weren’t invited by someone I met online.
In my opinion, FaceBook apps are ALL about trolling for friends. Every app I’ve found on FB has “make more coins by asking people you’ve never heard of to be friends with you!”
I have 227 friends on FaceBook, and have actually met (face to face) only two of them. A third I met elsewhere, and she invited me to FaceBook.
The other 224 FB friends, I did not know before I trolled them on FB apps in a selfish attempt to gain more coins playing FB games.
So yeah, I know only 1% of my FB friends.
That’s all my puny little brain can think of for now.
Wes.
December 30th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
wes, thanks for the additional insight. Your perspective is fascinating to me. my 600+ facebook friends are all people i knew previously through personal or work stuff. i am not a big gamer on facebook, so your experience is insightful.
thanks for taking the time to share your comments. happy new year!
January 3rd, 2010 at 1:14 am
well in the end there has to be money going from clients to the servers; the only thing that can change is the number of hands the money has to go through to get there. so if facebook stays with the ad model & it’s not successful, or not as successful as they would like it to be, then they will need to change either the types of services they advertise or the model all together. personally I’ve never really believed in the ad model: it explicitly depends on other services/products in order to make money. I think that a small fee would keep a large portion on facebook, although there will always be users (like me) who will never pay for certain things.
January 3rd, 2010 at 1:16 pm
gary, your comment was the most level-headed, reality-driven response i have seen on this subject. thanks so much for sharing your perspective. while i’m sure many of the readers of this blog will disagree with you — as evident by the many emotional responses — i think you hit the nail on the head all around. there is no such thing as a free lunch.
January 13th, 2010 at 1:35 am
not a chance that i would pay a fee to use facebook. not even one penny. something else will take its place with me. no reward for greed.
January 14th, 2010 at 6:15 pm
michael, i am curious as to how you consider it greed. they are providing a service that costs them money. do you work for free? i respect your opinion and am just trying to get my arms around your perspective. i appreciate you taking the time to comment.
January 14th, 2010 at 8:45 pm
Never ever ever will I pay for what Facebook offers. It is a convenience and not a necessity. Before Facebook talked with my core group of friends via phone and IM and I could easily go back to that.
I remember back in my college days, there was this cool dive bar that EVERYONE around used to go to because it was a cheap and easy place to gather with friends and to meet new people. But then someone came along and decided that they wanted to profit off of all of people who gathered at this spot. They bought out the owner and polished things up then jacked up the prices. All of a sudden things weren’t so cheap and easy and people just stopped going there…including me and my friends. The new place only lasted 6 months before it was closed down for good.
It’s kind of a sad story for me because I have some very fond memories of that time and it is a shame that it was destroyed because someone didn’t really understand why we all kept showing up to that crappy dive bar.
I’m not sure if this story of mine relates to a potential Facebook monthly fee. But I think the potential is there to screw up a very good thing.
January 15th, 2010 at 2:57 pm
james, thanks for sharing your story. i too have fond memories of many college bars. haha. seriously though, i do hear what you’re saying. the only difference is that when you went to that first bar, you still had to pay for your drinks. the bar still needed to make some type of revenue to exist. i wonder if you were more upset that the owner changed the look/feel of the bar (and then it didn’t fit your style) versus increased drink prices. for the record, i am not endorsing that facebook start to charge fees. i am only providing some type of balanced argument that there is no such thing as a free lunch. i believe it is fair for them to charge something for the services they provide. now whether that’s $1/mo, $1/yr. $12/yr is the big question. while i think people threaten to leave, i’m not sure they would if they fee was only $1/mo. — especially if all their friends stayed and used the platform to communicate with each other. with any luck, this entire thread of conversation will be a moot point because facebook will successfully monetize through other b2b means like advertising.
January 20th, 2010 at 12:52 pm
fb is a wonderfully convenient service to society. they have a right to charge a service. i probably would not pay to use it. however, for those that use fb as advertising for their business, those would be the ones to lose since a good chunk of the millions of people that currently use fb would most likely dimish, which means advertising on fb would no longer b as effective. fb, in turn, would see a reduction in the #’s of paying advertisors which would not be positive for them. my opinion is charge a fee to use the annoying app/games that friends tend to bombard you with, and continue the current business model of charging for advertisments on the site.
January 20th, 2010 at 3:48 pm
i appreciate you sharing your thoughts zaida. even after 64 comments, i think you bring fresh insight and thinking to the discussion. thanks for that.
January 21st, 2010 at 11:22 am
thought everyone on this thread would find this interesting: hulu is looking at a $5/mo subscription fee. this will act as a great live focus group for facebook. i’m interested to see how peeps respond to it.
http://www.businessinsider.com/hulu-looking-at-5-monthly-subscription-fee-for-older-episodes-2010-1
January 21st, 2010 at 2:54 pm
About Hulu launching a subscription fee: I would simply stop going there. There are MANY other places to go to watch classic (good) television that are still free.
I feel that I’ve already paid three times so I can access the internet (computer, electricity, cable isp). Once I get to the internet, I refuse to pay for access to the sites on the internet.
I’m sure there will be some who disagree with me. You’re welcome to your opinion. Please return the courtesy and allow me to have mine.
January 21st, 2010 at 3:09 pm
thanks wes. i appreciate your thoughts. i tweeted about this too and almost everyone who responded agreed with you 100%. clearly you are not alone in your thinking.
January 21st, 2010 at 10:57 pm
People agree with me? That’s the second time that’s happened this year. I may run for Pressydent now!
January 22nd, 2010 at 10:09 am
wes, maybe you should run for senator in massachusetts. clearly anyone can win there. haha….i mean sigh.
January 27th, 2010 at 9:32 am
I would never pay to use Facebook. I love it, but I’d have to find a new love.
January 27th, 2010 at 6:37 pm
peg, if you find a new love as good as facebook, please let me know. i’m open to a threesome. haha.
January 31st, 2010 at 3:09 pm
Well, Classmates charges, and the pool of people that pay is small. You really do not get your $ worth. If 1/2 of your friends do not pay, and they are the ones you really like, will you stay much longer either? Also, what is the goal of the owners, millionaire or billionaire? Why can’t it just be a steady income?
February 1st, 2010 at 2:26 am
I totally agree with you Wes! I pay enough as is why in the world should I ever have to pay more! I mean seriously. Like the people that pay for internet on their phones why???? I figure I have a computer for that! Unless of course your a business person I really dont see the point. I got a phone with wifi because other wise I would have to pay another $25 a month for internet on my phone and that to me is a waste of money. That’s half a tank of gas…..
February 1st, 2010 at 2:36 am
I would much rather drive my car then search the internet on my phone.
February 2nd, 2010 at 8:27 am
keith, i think the second a substantial number of someone’s friends drop off, the experience is diminished. it will certainly be a balancing act for everyone.
February 2nd, 2010 at 8:29 am
mandy, just don’t drive your car while searching the internet on your phone. that is illegal in some states. haha.
February 2nd, 2010 at 9:01 am
I don’t use my phone period while in the car. I guess you could say I love my car my then the internet. Never thought that was possible! Haha
February 9th, 2010 at 5:05 pm
I would not pay. This is crazy that they would think of this idea. I joined facebook back when only people going to college with an authentic college email address was the only way you could get an account. I thought that was when facebook was at its best. Facebook was invented by a college student who just wanted a way for people to be able to connect online for networking and school communication. Since then it has blown up and gone to the public, which is fine, but making people pay for it monthly is just dumb. There will be a new social site that will pop up for free if this happens and probably destroy facebook. If I had a vote, I would keep it the way it is. Public and free.
February 10th, 2010 at 5:35 pm
megan, i think a lot of people feel the way you do. i’m sure my 20 year daughter is slightly disturbed that a bunch of her old relatives are now all over facebook and invading her space. this post was written a year ago and the debate continues. the good news is there are no fees yet! thanks for taking the time to comment. i appreciate hearing your perspective. peace out.
February 12th, 2010 at 8:30 am
what all of you are forgetting is that $1/month or whatever amount facebook may elect to charge its users is not cheap to those of us who do not live in wealthy countries.
i am always stunned with how seriously misinformed those raised in rich countries are when they claim that such expenses are low. please speak for yourself. here in india, that $1 per month would be a couple of percent of a regular, labouring person’s monthly wages. such people as you can imagine have no disposable income. would you be willing to pay any web site even 1/100th of your income??? /!\
February 12th, 2010 at 1:53 pm
bo, i deserve that bitch slap. thanks for reminding me. my comments were certainly not considering countries where the majority of the population are financially challenged. i appreciate your insight. thank you!
February 15th, 2010 at 5:28 pm
Neither me or my husband would pay to be on facebook, although we spend sometime on it and we love it, we wouldn’t pay for it. They would loose more people then you might think if they start charging, then someone else will start another website where we can all go and socialize and facebook knows this.
It would be a stupid move on there part, especially with the economy the way it is.
February 16th, 2010 at 8:19 am
melody, your perspective is aligned with the majority of peeps who responded to this post. the good news is that at a recent $14 billion valuation, many people think facebook will figure out how to make money soon:
http://techcrunch.com/2010/01/20/facebook-valued-at-14-billion-on-secondmarket/
March 3rd, 2010 at 10:21 am
happy to see facebook generated $650 million in revenue in 2009 and didn’t charge its users a penny.
http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-wont-be-a-multi-billion-dollar-company-for-many-years-2010-3
March 4th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
I would not pay for Facebook. I would leave it and get a lot more done at home. I think that paying for something that isn’t necessary is bad planning. A luxury that I don’t need. Sure I would miss it but I’m unemployed and counting my pennies. Internet I pay for because of the information that it provides. If it would go up drastically it would be gone also. Just FYI if they decide to put a tax on it.
March 7th, 2010 at 12:44 pm
vaga, thanks for sharing your perspective. i would imagine the issue takes on a whole new meaning if you are unemployed. i appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts. good luck with the job search!
July 7th, 2011 at 12:11 pm
No, I strongly disagree that facebook should start charging a fee not even a modest fee. I don’t see any reason to open up that can of worms. I see it going something like this first,they’ll charge a modest fee of a dollar then, Zuckerberg will need to hire more people to deal with all aspects of handling this money and the cost will get passed down to us. I believe that the people who would be willing to pay a dollar for facebook today aren’t seeing the forest through the trees.
July 7th, 2011 at 10:23 pm
I would have to disagree as well… facebook is a tool to help stay in touch with friends and family… if I had to pay for using facebook whether it only be a dollar a month or whatever… I wouldn’t…. i feel its just not worth it!! I would just go back to myspace… thats free…. I understand some people are willing to pay but facebook will loose a lot of users n it might get worse…. why risk doing something like that to something so good!! it sounds greedy to me….
July 8th, 2011 at 12:02 pm
beatriz, thanks for taking the time to comment. it’s amazing to me that this post was written 2.5 years ago and still gets a ton of comments people certainly feel passionate about the subject. the good news is since i wrote this way back when, facebook has clearly found a path to monetization and it doesn’t involve charging users. yay.
July 8th, 2011 at 12:04 pm
gina, thanks for sharing your perspective. i know a lot of people feel the same way as you do. i’m curious if you see myspace and facebook as interchangeable platforms. if you have a moment, please share your thoughts. with justin timberlake jumping on the myspace bandwagon, it will be interesting to see what direction they begin to take.
September 24th, 2011 at 10:05 am
No I wouldn’t pay any fees. It would b a perfect excuse to get off my FB addiction and pay more attention to the more important things in life.
September 25th, 2011 at 11:04 pm
I believe that this is just another scam the govenorment is pulling over our heads to make more money. for those people who are facebook addicts will pay but for what? Just to see what their friends are doing? I have a phone for which does the same thing so to have two bills is point less. I only have facebook to keep in touch with my recent deployed husband. Other than that facebook is just another drama of all kinds site. At the returnof my husband I plan to delete my account nd stick with my phone. For it has all the people I need to talk to.
Sincerly, Megan