Millions of Facebook users woke up to a bill invoice in their inbox this morning. Warned all summer long that if they did not share a status they would start being charged for the service, many choose to ignore the warning.
While amounts charge on the invoices appear to vary by usage and content it appears that the hardest hit users were those who shared funny animal videos and pictures of their food. Lita Brownsfield of Baltimore, Maryland, “Why am I being penalized for sharing pictures of my green beans? Are my friends just supposed to imagine what my dinner looked like?”
Some users actually thought the status was a hoax. “I didn’t share the status, I thought to myself, what kind of economic model would be supported by sharing a poorly written and inane status. I mean, turn your profile picture blue? How does that generate income for Facebook?“, said Biff Henderson of Lexington, Kentucky.
Many users though aimed their anger at Facebook spokesman the famous comedian Steve Harvey who posted the following on his page yesterday, the last day for users to share the status without being charged:
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 Instagram 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 don’t pay.
When contacted for comment, Mr, Harvey said, “I meant to say share on Facebook, not Instagram. My mistake folks, my mistake”.
There still is hope for those hit with the large Facebook charges to recoup some losses, as of this morning Bill and Melinda Gates are still giving away billions to those sharing their Facebook status.