Facebook running test for highlighted posts (opens in new tab)

Whoa... This is interesting and very Badoo-like. I am surprised that Facebook has stooped this low to monetize its userbase. Again, they are focusing on the interests of the nodes instead of the benefit of the edges (relationship).

This is an inherently anti-social feature because it allows asymmetry in the relationship. People want to see what is most relevant to them, not what their friends want to broadcast.

I'm really interested to see how this plays out.

There's currently no way to modulate your volume in social media posts. So "here's a cute photo of my cat" ranks the same as "I really need some help on this". FaceBook amplifies signals that friends like, but this feature allows the poster to amplify as well.

But it uses money, and it's weird to mix money and friend relationships, so... I'm really interested to see how this plays out.

When I want to get a message out to friends that rises above the din of day to day chatter, I send an email. Or write a letter and drop it in the mail. Or make a phone call.

I will be surprised if this feature does anything but lower people's friends counts, as they quickly learn which groups they joined or people they friended are merely funded opportunists.

1. Facebook would probably need to somehow indicate that a post has been "highlighted", lest they lose legitimacy and breed distrust.

2. Users probably wouldn't want their friends to know they paid to highlight a post.

I'm not sure how those forces can be reconciled, unless people generally don't care about one [logical OR] the other.

The people who are willing to pay for this are not going to be the people whose posts you actually want to see.

I have to admit I'm a little confused. Is this so that a company you follow can pay for their message to be highlighted, or is it so my friend who really wants me to know what he had for breakfast can pay for the privilege?

I'm curious what the overlap between the following two sets is:

1. Speech for which I am willing to pay to share/announce

2. Speech for which I think Facebook is most appropriate venue

I suspect that overlap is quite small.