Facebook Hoax Time!

Seems like every year about this time, Facebook user's buy into a hoax concerning Facebook and subscription fees.  No doubt this weekend has been an active one on Facebook for many users.  At least on my Wall it has been.  I have a couple hundred people in my personal friend's list and it seems like the majority of them fell for this.



If you saw posts like:

"FACEBOOK JUST RELEASED THEIR PRICE GRID FOR MEMBERSHIP. $9.99 PER MONTH FOR GOLD MEMBER SERVICES, $6.99 PER MONTH FOR SILVER MEMBER SERVICES, $3.99 PER MONTH FOR BRONZE MEMBER SERVICES, FREE IF YOU COPY AND PASTE THIS MESSAGE BEFORE MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. WHEN YOU SIGN ON TOMORROW MORNING YOU WILL BE PROMPTED FOR PAYMENT INFO...IT IS OFFICIAL IT WAS EVEN ON THE NEWS. FACEBOOK WILL START CHARGING DUE TO THE NEW PROFILE CHANGES. IF YOU COPY THIS ON YOUR WALL YOUR ICON WILL TURN BLUE AND FACEBOOK WILL BE FREE FOR YOU. PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE ON IF NOT YOUR ACCOUNT WILL BE DELETED IF YOU DO NOT PAY"

Or a similar post (I personally encountered 2 versions of this post, one with pricing and one without). I understand some people will fall for this, it's just the nature of the beast when it comes to social networking and dealing with people in general. Some are more gullible than others.  But a little common sense when reposting would be great.

I mean think about, these status' mention they have been on the news...Yet, nobody has mentioned seeing it's coverage.  And surely this would have hit somewhere big like large newspapers or even Google News.  But nobody could verify that it indeed was a news story.

Next, if you repost this status supposedly your 'icon' would turn blue and you can continue using Facebook for free.  Not only would this be one of the worst business decisions Facebook could ever possibly try out (because naturally everybody wants it for free, right?).  But your icon may infact turn blue anyways.  Even if you type: "See spot run."

Why?  Because posts marked with a blue tick mark in the upper corner have been flagged by Facebook for your attention because they 'think' those posts may be of interest to you (and in my case rarely are).  So, I guess the part about the blue icon and Facebook being free isn't all wrong, because your post might be marked with the blue tick mark, and Facebook will still be free for you.

Finally, the post declares that if you don't pay, you're account will be deleted...I say, go ahead and do it.  Give me another reason to go full on with Google+!  If I were the Zuckerberg, I would send out an email to all Facebook User's declaring that anyone who has reposted may be at risk for account suspension due to manufacturing/spreading spam on the Facebook Network....And see how that goes over.

Personally, anytime I see something online (or even on TV) that doesn't sound quite right, I try to research it before spreading it like a bad cold.  Especially a newsworthy topic that may be covered on this site or any branch of social networking I may use.  It doesn't take a lot of time.  You can "google" this hoax and see a bunch of search results confirming it's pure crap.

And remember people, Facebook doesn't have to charge people subscription fees.  They make money others ways as in advertising, partnerships with Web App Developers, etc.  Research is key, and a little knowledge will go far.