http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/28/tech/social-media/facebook-rumors/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
The recent deluge of Facebook changes -- both those that have already happened and those that are on the way -- have people talking.
OK ... that's an understatement. They have people shouting (with either glee or fury). And fuming. And, sometimes, freaking out.
When a site has roughly 800 million users, and each of those users has a quick and easy way to share their thoughts with others, interest is high and info starts flying fast in the face of what looks like a pretty radical overhaul.
Inevitably, that leads to things getting a bit confused sometimes. So, here's a look at some of the rumors that we've seen flying around about Facebook's big changes, along with our best effort to sort them out.
1. Facebook is going to start charging you
Do we actually have to address this one? Apparently, yes.
Every once in a while, this rumor starts cropping up in status updates -- often in all caps. Some people can't seem to get their brains around the fact that a useful service like Facebook is going to remain free. So people begin copying and pasting messages announcing the date the site is going to a pay model.
A quick glimpse and you'll find multiple "We Won't Pay For Facebook" groups. On Facebook.
So, of course, when all the new changes rolled out, the planets were aligned perfectly for the rumor to spring back up. This time, it apparently got so prevalent that Facebook addressed it.
"A rumor on the Internet caught our attention. We have no plans to charge for Facebook. It's free and always will be," the site posted on its own Facebook page.
Here's the deal: Facebook will never really have a reason to start charging you for using it. To oversimplify the situation, you aren't Facebook's customer. You're its product. The site's business model is based on advertising and it wants as many users as possible to dangle in front of the click-hungry advertisers.
Charging for Facebook would inevitably decrease the number of users. And that would decrease advertising revenue. It's not going to happen.
Verdict: False. Very false
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