Facebook is testing a system that charges users for sharing web links, in a move that could prove to be a further blow to news outlets and other publishers.
Meta, the social media platform’s owner, said it is carrying out a “limited test” in which those without a paid Meta Verified subscription, costing at least £9.99 a month, can only post two external links a month.
The test appears to involve a subset of Facebook pages and user profiles on Professional Mode, which includes features used by content creators to monetise their posts.
News organisations are not included in the test. However, the move could hit newsrooms and other media publishers as it may stop their users from sharing their content.
The latest trial is part of a campaign to find ways of encouraging Facebook users to sign up to Meta Verified, which costs from £9.99 up to almost £400 per month per profile depending on the tier. It offers extra account features and security.
I think marketplace keeps it alive. That and inertia, which always exists at baseline wherever you go.
Offer Up started out ok, then got worse over the last 5 years instead of improving. It bought out the 3rd alternative for online thrifting/garage sales/giveaways, became clunkier, made location searches awful to invoke (you need to look up an exact zip code instead of just naming a town or moving a circle around on a map), replaced 1/4 of the posts with retail ads, and sprinkled more ads over the top. It’s absurd.
Whoever launches a solid, user friendly free app into this used market thrift space has a pretty good shot of undermining the hell out of what’s left of meta.
I deleted my facebook account in 2016. Earlier this year I created a new one just to use facebook marketplace. I have zero interest in facebook otherwise.