My 15 Dollars of Fame

Facebook is testing paid messaging, which means I finally know just how much I'm worth

Illustration by Tomasz Walenta for TIME; Candy Machine: Getty Images; Heads: Corbis (7)

One of the greatest things about the Internet is that I can bother anyone. One of the worst things about the Internet is that anyone can bother me. But Facebook, which has solved every other human quandary--from "I wonder what that person I hooked up with is up to now" to "I wonder what that person I never hooked up with is up to now"--has now solved this issue as well by running a test program that charges users to send messages to people they don't know.

When I called to find out if I could get out of paying, Facebook...

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