Facebook Highlight Promotes Status Updates for Fee

For many people, one of the greatest Facebook features is the ability to post status updates for the entire world to see.

Unfortunately, in a matter of seconds these personal updates often get bumped down in favor of newer ones, without anyone having enough time to read them.

However, those behind the popular social network are toying with the idea of allowing certain postings to take precedence over others, for a fee.

The new and aptly named 'Highlight' option (available to those willing to shell out a few extra bucks) guarantees that more friends and family will have time to see a status post by featuring it in the news feed section of their pages for a longer period of time.

Trial Period Will "Test the Waters" For Extra Fee Facebook Services

It is not clear whether or not the extra fees will go into effect right away.

In an interview with Stuff, Facebook spokesperson Mia Garlick said "this particular test is simply to gauge interest in this method of sharing with their friends." (Source: yahoo.com)

But if a potential market turns out to be present, Facebook would likely do what is necessary to cash in.

With more than 900 million users, the new feature could prove a major money-making avenue for Facebook. (Source: techcrunch.com)

Pay System Addresses Necessity Concerns

The 'Highlight' feature also offers individuals the opportunity to reach out with important messages.

For example, some people feel a genuine need to relay important information to friends and family at great distances via Facebook.

They might like to ensure that these people actually see their posts and receive the important information (medical notifications, a death of a loved one, etc).

For people who feel this way about certain information, having the ability to highlight specific posts would be tremendously appealing.

With so many posts flooding Facebook's news feeds on a second-by-second basis, a payment system ensuring that only certain posts are most likely to be seen first could benefit the entire social media community.