The team of the social media site, Facebook, are conducting a "small experiment" on Dec 21., buy charging Facebook users a $1 fees to have their message routed to the 'Inbox' of another user, whom they are not connected with through the social media.
According to CNET, "This test will give a small number of people the option to pay to have a message routed to the Inbox rather than the Other folder of a recipient that they are not connected with."
The strategy is an experiment to evaluate, perhaps, the importance of Facebook to connect with individuals and also evaluate whether people would go the extra distance to connect with someone on the site. The experiment is also a method of weeding out unwanted messages. Representatives of Facebook, say that the strategy is merely an experiment and is not being applied to all Facebook users, nor is it being applied to commercial or promotional use at this point.
On the Facebook blog post, " Today we're starting a small experiment to test the usefulness of economic signals to determine relevance. This test will give a small number of people the option to pay to have a message routed to the Inbox rather than the Other folder of a recipient that they are not connected with.
Several commentators and researchers have noted that imposing a financial cost on the sender may be the most effective way to discourage unwanted messages and facilitate delivery of messages that are relevant and useful.
This test is designed to address situations where neither social nor algorithmic signals are sufficient. For example, if you want to send a message to someone you heard speak at an event but are not friends with, or if you want to message someone about a job opportunity, you can use this feature to reach their Inbox. For the receiver, this test allows them to hear from people who have an important message to send them."
The entire message on the official Facebook blog can be found here.
