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| Type of site | Social network service |
|---|---|
| Available in | English Polish German French |
| Owner | Michael Birch |
| Created by | Michael Birch Xochi Birch and Tykee Patchrick |
| URL | http://www.bebo.com |
| Registration | Yes |
Bebo is an online social media network similar in format to MySpace, Xanga, Facebook, and Yahoo! 360. The site was founded in January 2005 by husband and wife team Michael and Xochi Birch. It was given a major relaunch in July 2005. Bebo can be used in most countries around the world including Ireland, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia. Bebo have recently launched a Polish version of the site which uses a different user database. There are also plans for French and Spanish versions among others.
Bebo is the 85th most popular English-language website (at 1 June 2007) according to Alexa Internet. According to Hitwise, Bebo is the third most popular social networking website but has only a 1.18% share of the market. Bebo also announced on March 17 2007 that it was the most popular website in the Republic of Ireland, however, as of October 7 2007, Bebo dropped to second, behind Google.ie. As of September 2007 Alexa ranked it as the 11th most popular site in the UK with MySpace occupying 9th place and Facebook 3rd place. In the U.S. however, it was not in the top 100 at that point. Bebo was also listed as the number one term most representative of search trends on Google in 2006.
Profiles
Open Application Platform
On 1 November 2007 Bebo announced that it will be joining OpenSocial, a set of common APIs for building social applications across the web. In addition to this Bebo announced plans for a Developers Platform and stated they were to make a further platform announcement on November 13, 2007. This platform announcement however, turned out to be about the Bebo 'Open Media Platform' and not a true API. Bebo's Developers Platform was launched in early December 2007 with just over 50 applications from partners such as iLike, Flixster, Last.fm, RockYou, Gaia Online, Yahoo and Bunnyhero Labs. Millions of applications were installed in the first couple of days. Despite this, 81% of almost 8,000 respondents to an official poll voted that Applications have "made Bebo worse", with 14% of respondents voting they have made it better and 3% with no opinion..
The platform is based on Facebook's Platform and is a slightly modified version to include some Bebo only features such as Book profiles or Channel profiles. All Facebook applications should be fully compatible with the platform. Initially, the addition of new applications was limited to a select number of developers. As the platform has matured and launch defects fixed, Bebo has allowed all developers to submit new applications.
On 15 January 2008 Widgetbox released the App Accelerator for Bebo, which allows developers to create a Bebo application based on their pre-existing Widgetbox-registered widget. These widgets are registered as their own Bebo application and are provided functionality mirroring Widgetbox's App Accelerator for Facebook.
Bebo also announced Google's Open Social platform will also be implemented in early 2008, making Bebo the first website to support both Open Social and the Facebook Platform.
Suicide reports
Recently, there have been reports in south Wales about several teenagers using Bebo linked to suicide through the social networking website. It is unclear what triggered the tragic deaths, but there were reports of hangings at the time. The old market town of Bridgend, in South Wales, known mostly for its rich rugby heritage and its famous sons (including Welsh Rugby stars JPR Williams and pin-up Gavin Henson, boyfriend of singer Charlotte Church), is the suicide capital for young people in Britain.
Also, similar reports have been made about the unsecurity of young people, particularly girls, posting personal information and pictures on the site. This information has lead to stalking, rape and murder of the youths.
See also
- List of social networking websites
- Michael Birch
- Backronym -- Bebo's slogan, "Blog early, blog often" is an example of a Backronym.
References
- How to make 80 million friends and influence people at http://observer.guardian.co.uk (accessed October 12, 2007)
- "About Michael Birch". About Bebo. Bebo. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
- Polish version
- French version
- Spanish version
- "Bebo.com". Alexa. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
- "Social Networking Visits Increase 11.5 Percent From January To February" (Press release). Hitwise. 2007-03-14. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Torres, Maritza (17 March 2007). "Happy St. Paddy's Day - Bebo is #1 in Ireland!". Our Blog. Bebo. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Top Sites Ireland at www.alexa.com (accessed October 7, 2007)
- "2006 Year-End Zeitgeist". Google. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
- "Bebo users vote against "Apps"". Bebo Backstage. 2007-12-30. Retrieved 2007-12-30.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Suicide craze linked to social networking site Bebo | Herald Sun