Why I'd Pay for Facebook

Hi!

Six months ago, I couldn't have cared less. These days, though, I use Facebook every day. It's a great took for keeping in touch and makes face-to-face interaction richer. I've commented on this in previous posts, but I think it's worth repeating: If you're visiting someone you haven't seen in a while, having kept in touch via Facebook allows you to skip directly to more meaningful conversation. They've seen the latest pictures of the kids and your yard, the know all about your vacation, and they've seen the video you posted of your new puppy... It's just a great tool for facilitating casual exchanges of information. Facebook, as a company, doesn't make money. The benefits I get from Facebook are worth paying to have. No, I wouldn't pay $20 per month, but I would pay $20 per year. It'd be a no-brainer, and I'd bet that a million people would agree with me.

Now, I've seen the plethora of Facebook groups denouncing paying and threatening to leave if Facebook starts charging for its services. Let them! If Facebook doesn't do something to generate revenue, then it'll go under. I'd much rather pay than be inundated with more and more ads. Besides, a small fee (after a free six-month introductory offer) would separate those who really use Facebook from those who just signed-up on a whim and never really got into it. These accounts are like litter through which one must sift in order to find people. I recently got connected with a friend named "Jim Smith." I searched for him when I first joined, but gave up because there are so many Jim Smiths out there. (He found me through a mutual friend with a less common name than either of ours.) Without all the litter, I might have been able to find him on my own.

Facebook has plenty of other opportunities to generate revenue, too. They already offer photo/video sharing, why not create a "premium" service for a fee? Brandi and I use SmugMug to share our digital photos on-line. If Facebook offered a similarly robust photo-sharing site for a fee comparable to SmugMug, I'd be tempted to switch (especially if they had a utility to make it easy). I'd also be tempted to move my blog if Facebook offered a blogging service tied to my FB account. How cool would it be if every time I posted, my FB account was automatically updated with a link to my latest post? It's be simple and I'd be willing to pay an extra couple of bucks for that.

The bottom line is that I value the service Facebook provides and would be willing to pay for it. If you value something, wouldn't you?

Thanks,
Matt