Search Results for: bebo

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Warning: Bebo Will Change Your Profile Without Warning or Input

posted on September 4, 2008

If you’ve paid attention to my advice about selecting your social networking profile name, you’ve likely carefully made your choice.

Well be warned; Bebo will change your profile name without notice and without any input from you.

Take a look at this email I recently received from Bebo:

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Andy Beal,

Your username has been changed by a Bebo administrator for security purposes. Sorry for the inconvenience.

New Username: AndyBeal_*******

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Please do not reply directly to this email.

If you have a question about the Bebo service:

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AOL to Unload Bebo for Cheap

posted on June 17, 2010

Two years AOL bought Bebo for $850 million it looks like the fire sale for this ‘asset’ may happen. We had wondered if this was even an option considering some of the tax laws attached to the sale like this could work against AOL. If that were the case it was a real possibility that AOL would just let Bebo fade into the sunset.

According to the WSJ there appears to be a taker and it will likely be for next to nothing.

Ending a failed attempt to capitalize on the social-networking craze, AOL Inc. is close to selling its social-networking site Bebo to a private investment firm at a fire-sale price, according to people familiar with the matter.

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AOL, Bebo and Being Stupid

posted on December 10, 2008

I know I have been tough on AOL in the recent past. Unfortunately, they make themselves such an easy target that you almost feel dirty taking shots. After reading today’s article in the WSJ about AOL’s attempt at truly breaking into the social networking space with its relaunch of Bebo I had to go back to the well just one more time.

AOL bought what is promoted as the No. 3 social media website on the web, Bebo. OK, let’s stop here and take a look. First, I feel like I have my fill of social media / networking with Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. I know I am not a social media butterfly but most human beings have other things to do than track more social media outlets. Second, having said that what the heck is Bebo? If you are a user please comment and explain this thing, please.

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Platform Possibilities: Bebo, But Not MySpace

posted on October 11, 2007

More platform rumors are flying this week. After the success of Facebook’s platform, it seems like everyone and their social network is scrambling to get their own version out. We’ve already seen rumors about Google’s and MySpace’s intentions. Today, the MySpace rumors are called into question and Bebo rumors start.

Bebo logoBebo: Assuring Its Dominance
Read/Write Web reports from “a couple reliable sources” and “a Bebo investor” that the most popular social networking site in the UK, Bebo, is working on a developer platform, which it plans to call a “platform API.” RWW notes that with the rumored launches, the “‘platform wars’ will be well and truly on.”

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Et Tu, Bebo?

posted on December 12, 2007

Oh, OpenSocial. How utopian. How idealistic. How run-by-Google.

How not actually what Bebo decided to go with for their Open Application Platform, announced today (CNET coverage), despite having joined the initiative last month. Instead, their platform is set to be Facebook-compatible, making it easy for developers to port their Facebook apps to Bebo. Which, you know, they’re all just dying to do.

Bebo is among the first to be able to use Facebook’s markup language (FBML) externally, a capability which Facebook just announced.

So, why the betrayal? Bebo CEO (and co-founder) Michael Birch made his announcement this morning, he explained:

When OpenSocial (which has yet to launch in full) is ready and stable, Birch said, Bebo will add those APIs to its developer arsenal, too. “OpenSocial and the Facebook Platform are clearly different platforms,” he said, then added jokingly, “Our lazy development team said they couldn’t do both at once.”

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Add Music and Video to your Bebo Profile

posted on November 13, 2007

Social networking site Bebo has its own “Open Media” platform for music and video content. If you’re a member of Bebo you can create your own profile but now you can put video and your favorite music on it. Not audio files though (which someone should develop). Media companies can also create their own profiles.

When anyone says social networking profile I can’t help myself but translate that into free publicity for me and my company (or clients). I’ve been asked how I do my reputation management online, and there’s one of my secrets. It doesn’t take long to create profiles of yourself everywhere and focus on a few social networking sites that are worth a deeper time investment. Because they are time investments. But they are also ways to get links and exposure online. And the sites like Bebo get unique content. I’d think this would be especially big for small companies (local real estate agents, etc) who may not even have a web site or much competition online.

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AOL Has a Boo-Boo on Its Bebo

posted on March 11, 2010

“You would have to be stupid. You would have to trip to not succeed at this at some point.”

Those words may come back to haunt the former Bebo chief Joanna Shields, now that rumors are circulating that the social network is about to be dropped like a hot potato.

Back when AOL bought Bebo for $850 million, I was already speculating that the social network had slipped from its valuation high of $1.5 billion. Now it appears that the social network has lost users–down from 22 million a month to 14.6 million–and with it, it’s value to AOL.

What’s interesting is the predicament facing AOL. Due to some complex tax laws, it may actually make better financial sense for AOL to just shut Bebo down.