Home topics technology social-media-blogs Social Media Social Media Will people pay to belong to a social media community? Michelle Frost April 6, 2012 Fairfax will launch its new social media platform, Connect Pink, in June in the hopes of connecting women in regional Australia . The question is, will users be willing to pay a nominal fee to join this new social network? I was recently invited to a business breakfast to learn all about a new social media platform, to be launched in June. Fairfax Media are hoping that their Connect Pink social media platform will become a focal point for regional Australian women online. The aim is to make this social media platform more ‘local’; that is, a place you can connect with friends and family and catch up on the latest news. The news portion of the service makes it slightly different from current platforms, in that you can choose the categories of news that you want in your feed, which will be provided be Fairfax. The difference is that this will be a paid social media service. In order to belong, you’ll be asked to pay a nominal fee that will go directly to a charity – in the first year that charity will be the McGrath Foundation . Will this put a lot of people off joining? Ros Marsden, director of sales and marketing for Connect Pink, says no. Fairfax believes most people won’t have an issue paying $5, if they know the money will