A protected document leaked to TechCrunch  has shown an interesting new development in terms of advertising for the app we all use most, Facebook. Businesses will soon be able to send ads as messages to people who previously messaged a company. So for example, if you messaged a restaurant they would then be able to send you special offers via Messenger. The document recommends that companies start encouraging people who have liked their pages to start message threads, and that way the ball will get rolling on the messenger-as-advertising scheme. Facebook have also launched a URL shortlink: fb.com/msg/ that instantly opens a thread with a business, and this was confirmed by the company. There are a staggering 800 million users of Messenger in the world, so it only makes sense that Facebook would try and monetise it. Will my messenger inbox be plagued with spam? Not according to TechCrunch: "Thankfully for users, Facebook isn’t going to let brands send ad messages to just anyone or even people who’ve liked their Pages. Only those who have voluntarily chatted with a business can be sent ads. This should somewhat limit the spam potential and annoyance." We'll have to see how this one pans out.