In its quest to drum up new sources of revenue, social network giant Facebook is currently testing a paid messages program that will enable users to reach out to those outside their network of friends for a fee of $1 per message. Although the service is early in the testing phase, it holds potential to alter the messaging function for both brands and consumers alike.

According to a December study by AYTM Market Research, 26% of surveyed US Facebook users reported sending and receiving messages often. Moreover, 35% said they sometimes used the messaging feature. The survey showed that only 13% of users never used the service.

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