The fear that Facebook will become a subscription service is a very real one to millions of its users; a tertiary look at groups on the social network service reveals that much. If you ask Facebook though, it’s not going to happen now or ever.
“We have absolutely no plans to charge for the basic service of using Facebook,” said Facebook spokesman Larry Yu. “Last year we saw a similar rumor circulating that Facebook was going to begin charging $1.99 to use the site, but this year we’re hearing that fee increased to $14.99 with the spread of this rumor. We look forward to hearing what Facebook might be rumored to cost for use next year.”
Other employees at Facebook will say that having a pay-wall runs counter to the company’s goal to make the world more open and connected. Even if you don’t buy that, there are very good profitability reasons they won’t go to a subscription service.
The more users it has, the more appealing Facebook is to advertisers. There’s also the use of microtransactions for games and virtual gifts, and the more people that have access to those features, the better for Facebook. All of this means that Facebook will make more money when they don’t have a subscription fee, showing the true power of advertisements.
Source: CNN {link no longer active}
