Bye bye Bebo?
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For those that have come late to social networking, Facebook and Twitter are pretty much everything they want/need/use. But before Facebook became the giant it is today there were other popular social networks like Bebo and MySpace that have simply faded away. Essentially they haven’t crossed the chasm to mainstream adoption – and being the only one of your friends on a social network is lonely and frankly, a little pointless.
But Bebo is attempting a comeback. After being bought from the clutches of AOL by Californian entrepreneur Adam Levin it is now being relaunched. Backed by an array of media advisers, including ex-BBC One/Channel 4 controller Michael Jackson it aims to turnaround the site. UK user numbers are down to 1.9 million monthly visitors in January 2011 (compared to 5.7 million a year earlier), so clearly something needs to be done.
New features include more control over newsfeeds and a wider range of responses to posts rather than just ‘Like’. More importantly integration with other social networks is made easier, recognising that it is no longer the market leader. However I can’t help thinking this is too little, too late. For Bebo to survive it has to have a different purpose than Facebook rather than simply improving its features. Unfortunately without that, the relaunch may prove a temporary upward blip as it follows MySpace towards social media oblivion.
Related articles
- Resurrected Bebo gets a facelift (venturebeat.com)
- Bebo Tries Redesign To Halt Traffic Slide (paidcontent.org)
- Boo.com founder fears net bubble (ft.com)
- 8 reviews of Bebo (rateitall.com)
- AOL Broke Bebo, This Man Is Fixing It — Our Q&A With CEO Adam Levine (AOL) (businessinsider.com)
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Chris Measures
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I’m reminded of the fake Twitter account purporting to be ‘Tom from Myspace’ (@MySpace__Tom).
The first Tweet reads, “Hello? Hello? So this is where you all got to. I am glad I have found you all again. I was so alone.”
The question is, was it fake?
[...] The question a lot of commentators are asking is – are we in another bubble and what happens when it pops? I’m not an economist but when you look at LinkedIn, which has said it won’t make a profit in 2011 and see that it values it at 17 times 2010 revenues (Google by contrast is at six times revenue) I’d worry. Essentially you are taking a punt on LinkedIn extending its offering and delivering future profits to match the valuation and while it has a strong, differentiated, brand things can change quickly in social media. Just look at the plummeting fortunes of early stars MySpace and Bebo…………….. [...]