BREAKING - Due to the uproar caused by announcing its shutdown on March 15, Facebook has a new plan – charging users!
On January 9th, WWN’s J.B. Smitts broke the story that Facebook was shutting down on March 15th.
Pressure from angry users has been too much and Facebook is looking at an alternative, something that will persuade Mark Zuckerberg to keep the site alive: the social media platform is going to start charging users!
Facebook is planning a subscription-based service with monthly fees starting at $0.99 for a basic “friendship” which allows for the posting of text and just one profile picture. This fee will increase, depending on the number of friends you have, the messages posted and sent, and the pictures/videos/ games put on a user’s page. The monthly fee will be capped at $50.00 per month at the high-end.
Bottom line: the more you use Facebook, the more you will pay.
All existing content has been “grandfathered” and will not be disrupted – though Facebook has decided to share this data with government agencies, including the FBI and the CIA.
Goldman Sachs, which had been planning to raise $1.5 billion in financing before they learned that Mark Zuckerberg wanted to shutter the site, is thrilled at the prospect of Facebook converting to a pay service.
“The addition of this substantial revenue windfall makes Facebook all that more attractive as an investment,” said Tom Weitz, Senior Vice President of Goldman Sachs. “This will make it the largest corporation on the planet, in the history of the planet.”
Industry watchers estimate that the new fee-based program will generate well in excess of $20 billion in new revenue for the company – based on the most conservative assumptions of usage and the proposed tiered fee structure.
These estimates, of course, account for the fact that millions of users may quit Facebook in response to the imposition of fees. “I’m not going to pay for Facebook! It’s like paying for air. It’s not right,” said longtime Facebook junkie, Jessica Samsille. “Screw them, I’m going back to MySpace,” said Bo Chan.
No matter. Facebook executives are excited at the prospect of charging users. “We’re going to make money hand-over-fist,” said Facebook CEO Sheryl Sandberg. “I think converting to a pay service is something that will make Mark want to keep the site going. And I’ll finally get to buy that island I want in the Mediterranean.”
March 15th is Facebook Day. The site will either shut down, or start charging users for its service.
Beware the ides of March…
