The social networking site Bebo took a huge blow today, as Reuters reported that AOL wants to either sell or shut down the site. AOL acquired Bebo in March 2008 for $850m.
Bebo sent out a staff memo which said, "Bebo, unfortunately, is a business that has been declining and, as a result, would require significant investment in order to compete in the competitive social networking space".
Social networking is a tough market these days with the dominance of Facebook and Myspace, which both have the backing of large companies such as Microsoft and News Corp.
Bebo is quite popular in Ireland, New Zealand and the UK, however it failed to make any real impact in the United States. It's hard to predict whether a larger organisation will acquire Bebo, as it may seem to tough of a challenge to take up.
Comments (30)
ReplyAnother great AOL investment - these guys have the midas touch.
It's the Network Effect. There's only room for one unless you have a niche!
cause it sucks, full of spam has no advantage and more reason not use it over others. I'd be rather glad to see it go. Myspace can jump in that pool too.
It's too heavy, yes its nice to be all fancy and customizable but it feels thick and slow. Facebook is light and quick. don't know about myspace but it looks halfway between the two.
Facebook... light and quick?! I'd have to respectfully disagree with you - it's slow as molasses, and the 'applications' crowd the user interface. In fact, I've been using Lite mode exclusively since it was released sometime last year.
And not a moment to soon, tbh.
good. they ruined it anyway.
never heard of it until now.
And how many people will be jobless? Just for this, I hope it gets sold, not shut down!!!
Wow another expensive mistake by AOL
Myspace and Bebo became pointless when they offered customisation on profiles. Girls tend to get a bit too excited with all fancy glittery text and images. Facebook FTW!
no need for bebo when there is facebook and twitter, myspace will be the next one to go
Bebo is no longer popular in New Zealand. The product isn't good as Facebook, and hence is failing. We are just merely slow in the uptake of Facebook.
Bebo won't last unfortunately.
I don't ever remember Bebo being popular in the UK among people who aren't 12 year old girls.
This.
This.
Indeed.
Great most of the jobs at Bebo are in the UK, don't shut it down AOL.
its declined alot here in NZ as well, everyone I know moved over to Facebook and just left their bebo profiles to die
Bebo was popular about 5/6 years ago (I remember I was in High School). Only problem is every "decorates" - I'm using that term lightly - their profile with flash, glitter text and crap that slows everything down.
Is it Christmas already?
I am not dissapointed in the slightest. All my friends on bebo will move to FaceBook and I wont have to sroll down through there Hundred useless apps they have on their page to leave them a message!
My friends used to use Bebo but have since all joined Facebook. It's just crap in every single way.
Aww Bebo is the one I use most
I guess I'm the only one who actually likes being able to customise my page.
It wasn't too bad, until AOL got their hands on it.
Bebo?
$850m ... wow.
Why not just sell AOL instead. Save us all the bother.
I didn'treally like Bebo, and when AOL bought it, I jumped ship.
From my point of view at least, Bebo does seem pointless. I've never known anyone who uses it.