Facebook has been changing, and the new Facebook will become even newer in the near future. However, the recent rumor that you’ll soon have to pay to access the gigantic social network is exactly that: A rumor.
Rest easy, Facebook lovers. You can continue to wish your friends happy birthday on their walls and share what you ate for lunch with 500 members of your closest social circle — for free. If you saw the following status update one or 100 times in your news feed last week, you might have panicked a little:
FACEBOOK JUST RELEASED THEIR PRICE GRID FOR MEMBERSHIP. $9.99 PER MONTH FOR GOLD MEMBER SERVICES, $6.99 PER MONTH FOR SILVER MEMBER SERVICES, $3.99 PER MONTH FOR BRONZE MEMBER SERVICES, FREE IF YOU COPY AND PASTE THIS MESSAGE BEFORE MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. WHEN YOU SIGN ON TOMORROW MORNING YOU WILL BE… PROMPTED FOR PAYMENT INFO…IT IS OFFICIAL IT WAS EVEN ON THE NEWS. FACEBOOK WILL START CHARGING DUE TO THE NEW PROFILE CHANGES. IF YOU COPY THIS ON YOUR WALL YOUR ICON WILL TURN BLUE AND FACEBOOK WILL BE FREE FOR YOU. PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE ON IF NOT YOUR ACCOUNT WILL BE DELETED IF YOU DO NOT PAY
(We’re not yelling at you, we promise. But whoever wrote it certainly was.)
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Of course, if you’ve been on Facebook for a while, you’re probably used to the pay-for-use rumors. However, based on the number of times this message appeared on feeds, it’s apparent people were concerned.
You can exhale! Facebook is free. CBS News reports that Facebook has no plans to begin charging users. CBS cites the message Facebook shared last night: “A rumor on the internet caught our attention. We have no plans to charge for Facebook. It’s free and always will be.”
Facebook, which is valued at $80 billion, earned $1.6 billion in the first half of 2011, according to Reuters. Why mess with a good thing?
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However, while Facebook isn’t charging, it’s certainly changing. Last week’s news ticker addition was just the beginning. Facebook plans to roll out even more changes, including the Timeline and new apps.
For those who appreciate a little Facebook humor, a popular status update is making the rounds today:
On September 31st, 2011 Facebook will start charging you for your account. To avoid this, you MUST get naked, stand on your dining room table and do the Macarena, all the while singing “I Will Survive”. After filming and posting it to your Facebook wall and YouTube, then, and only then, will Mark Zuckerberg come down your chimney to tell you that your account will stay free. Pass it on, it must be true because someone on Facebook I hardly know told me.
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