Posted on 08/28/2012 6:49:38 PM PDT by publius321
Facebook (FB) claims to have more than 800 million monthly users. The postulate seems to be that imposing a subscription fee would spell destruction for Facebook, driving away an enormous number of users. I agree.
Getting that degree of "critical mass" is catching lighting in a bottle. If Facebook should blow it now, they will never get it back. Look at Classmates.com. For all intents and purposes... (continued)
(Excerpt) Read more at seekingalpha.com ...
I’m already thinking of leaving for privacy reasons, having to pay would just hasten the action.
Me pay for facebook ... Haaaaaaahaaahaahahahahhaaa. NEVER HAPPEN. Laughing so hard I’m having stitches in my side.
Out of curiosity, why would anyone give their social network, their friends, photos, and their life story away to Facebook so they could monetize your life and destroy your privacy, and keep it all in a data base from now to eternity?
I have no interest in giving FB rights to my life. If it turns you on, go for it. Our fickle society will soon put FB as out of vogue as it was in vogue last year. Astute people now understand that loss of privacy is an irreplaceable loss.
I disagree with this guy. I like FB for keeping up with my kids and friends, especially for the photos but make me pay or watch ads and I will walk away. I don’t think I am alone in this.
I just participate in Facebook for chats w/ Facebook friends. If they started charging for that, I’d be gone in a second. However, if they offered services beyond what they currently offer, they could potentially make some money from those specific services.
One of the strengths that Facebook has is that companies might be willing to pay for targeted advertising of individuals or people might be willing to pay a few bucks, if they could get special discounts on stiff they do or buy anyway.
But, Facebook as it currently stands would not be worth paying admission for to use it as I currently use it.
Facebook = An Eighth Commandment-free zone dominated by codependant narcissists and voyeurs.
Sometimes. But sometimes it's a delightful way for a grandparent to keep in touch with grandchildren who live hundreds of miles away. It all depends on how you use it.
FB can crumble very easily. If they start charging and people leave, how many people will keep paying if most of their “friends” depart?
One simple way to monetize it would be to charge a nominal fee ($1.00) per each new friend added. If nothing else, that would make people be a little more careful about who they friend. That might actually be a good thing.
lol.
who in their right mind would PAY for that??
FB would fall quickly if pay.
The very first “facebook type” was Classmates.com?
Everyone and anyone who has dealt in anime and mangas know that MYANIMELIST were the very first who did it, and were neck and neck with Myspace for many years before it got surpassed by FB.
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
They think they have enough people hooked that they won’t be able to live without it.
They can GTH! I could never see the fun in giving out your most deepest secrets and ancestry info to the government.
I have a customer paying over $100/month to play Farmer, she would definetly pay for the option to pay more. I guess it’s easier than ACTUALLY Farming, but it seems Ludicrous to me.
WOW. I read all 14 responses and it is 100% clear that not one of the commentators read the column because they all claim to disagree but in reality - I (the author) made the same contention - that to require a paid subscription fee would destroy the service and company.
There were a few other passionate points made here that seem to display outrage like privacy issues...
I agree with all of them - but they had nothing to do with the propounded thesis. I wrote this for SeekingAlpha, a site geared toward investors. I own no shares in Facebook so I have no dog in the race - but it is a business opinion - not a column designed to shill for more Facebook users.
I appreciate feedback but I wish it would come from people who know what the column on which they are commenting actually indicates.
I think there is a certain percentage that would pay for FB. They are the same ones that buy the latest Iphone & Ipad, watch reality programs, voted for Zero, and are generally intellectually and socially challenged.
I can see people paying a few bucks for games, but $100/month is simply ridiculous.
I wouldn’t play flash games as a habit, but if they brought out high quality computer games, that’s a possibility.
FB will be gone or surpassed within 2 years and will go the way of the dinosaurs before too long
Count on it
Facebook could make billions by selling spying capabilities. “For 100 bucks a year, you can snoop in anyone’s account, and they won’t know it, unless they paid 200 bucks a year.”
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