Facebook users wishing to send a personal message to stars may soon be able to do so thanks to the social network’s pay-to-message program.
The program, which quietly launched in the U.S. this past December, has now been expanded into the UK and 36 other countries, according to reports.
“It is being tested among a very small percentage of users,” a rep said, “There is no set timescale. It depends on what happens, what feedback we get.”
“We are testing a number of price points in the UK and other countries to establish the optimal fee that signals importance. This is still in a test phase.”
The charge to reach British Olympic diver Daley, for instance, is about $16.35, while messaging author Salman Rushdie (seriously) can be done for $15.40.
The rep said FB is using a secret algorithm that measures celebs’ fame. However, “You can’t infer someone’s ‘celebrity’ from numbers alone,” another rep said.
So … it sounds totally made up. Sort of like the Facebook phone!
Facebook launched the messaging program in the U.S. late last year by charging users $100 to message prominent figures including Mark Zuckerberg.
The company also began charging $1 to message users you don’t know. Previously, such messages wound up in that users’ oft-ignored “other” box.
Beyond Zuckerberg, though, the program seems to be of limited scope … you can’t ping Lady Gaga or Eminem at present. Not that we checked …