Word about Facebook's new method of generating revenue whereby it charges users $100 to get a message delivered to its CEO Mark Zuckerberg has spread across the online media like wildfire. First noticed by Mashable followed by wide-scale reporting on the web, the news was that Facebook may offer to keep the message sent to its young CEO out of his "Other" Inbox for a hefty pricetag of $100.
Initially it was assumed that the message was only for users who were not one of Zuckerberg's 16 million followers. The senders were offered two options: "Send this message to his inbox for $100" or "Just send this message to his Other folder."
The "Other" folder is the dumping ground where it collects users' Facebook messages from non-friends.
Just as the $100 news was going viral on the web, The Wall Street Journal managed to elicit an official response from the social networking giant which explained that it is just a trial run to minimize the incoming spam for its VIP users with large subscriber counts and giant online presences. "We are testing some extreme price points to see what works to filter spam," a Facebook sportsperson said in an email response to WSJ queries.
The new pricing scheme is believed to be an extension of a $1 charge, announced last December, to drop a message directly to a person's inbox. Facebook is reportedly mulling several options, including allowing just one message per week, to reduce spasm.
