<p>The blogosphere has been buzzing today with the idea that Facebook is running a test where it's possible to message people who aren't your friends for $100, including Mark Zuckerberg. That idea isn't as crazy as it sounds.</p><p>Except I deserve a cut when someone messages me. It shouldn't all be Facebook's. I should also be able to set my own price. Different people assign different value to their time, and a static rate doesn't make any sense. I, for one, think that $100 to get Zuck to read one of my messages is a bargain.</p><p>Charging for messages creates a more efficient market and helps deter spam. I get a lot of mail, and most of it goes unread because there's no deterrent and no cost for people to send messages. People send messages indiscriminately. I'm thinking of PR people in particular many just add any writer's email address to a list without regard to what he or she writes about.</p><p>I filter what I choose to read based on whether someone knows my private email address and who referred them. For the ones that I do read, if it doesn't grab me in the first couple of sentences, I stop reading. But economics is often the best filter: If you're willing to spend money to send me a message, you've probably done some filtering on your own to ensure that there is a reasonable fit and that I would want to read what you have to say.</p><p><a href="http://venturebeat.com/2013/01/11/facebook-charging-for-messaging-isnt-as-crazy-as-it-sounds/">Keep reading...</a></p><p>Read also:</p><p><a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2013/01/facebook_s_messaging_fee_scheme_is_part_of_its_plan_to_revolutionize_email.html">Photo by KIMIHIRO HOSHINO/AFP/GettyImages</a> (Slate Magazine)</p><p><a href="http://betabeat.com/2013/01/messaging-mark-zuckerberg-facebook-founder-charges-100-to-stay-out-of-his-other-box/">Messaging Mark Zuckerberg: Facebook Founder Charges $ 100 to Stay Out of ...</a> (Betabeat)</p><p><a href="http://bostinno.com/2013/01/11/facebook-is-experimenting-with-messaging-at-100-a-pop/">Facebook is Experimenting With Messaging at $ 100 a Pop</a> (BostInno (blog))</p><p>Explore: <a href="http://news.google.com/news/more?ncl=dPH-udA0Y0yRMtMK_eIh9lCU8ApcM&ned=us">396 additional articles.</a></p>