Bebo
Bebo (pronounced /ˈbiːboʊ/) is a social networking website, designed to allow friends to communicate in various ways. It has developed into an online community where users can post pictures, write blogs and send messages to one another, and is similar in format to MySpace, Xanga and Yahoo! 360. The site was founded in January 2005 by Michael Birch and his wife, Xochi Birch. It was given a major relaunch in July of that year.[1]
Popularity statistics
Bebo is the 174th most popular English language website, based on a three-month average to February 2007, according to Alexa Internet.[2] In the United States, Bebo was the fastest growing social networking site in June 2006 according to Hitwise, Inc.[3] Bebo also announced on March 17th 2007 that it was the most popular website in the Republic of Ireland[4]. Bebo as a keyword was also listed as the number one term most representative of search trends on Google in 2006.[5]
Features
Profile components
Once a user has registered an account, they edit and maintain their own profile page using online forms. The top of a user's profile contains information about the user, which would typically include their name, a picture, a paragraph about them, and some miscellaneous information under various headings. Although default headings are provided, many users create their own to reflect their own interests, or to include quips, quotes, jokes, or gibes.
Profiles include; a whiteboard, in which other users can draw pictures with a variety of colors using a system called ffArt, a comment section where other users can leave a message, and a list of the user's friends. These are all publicly viewable, unless the user selects the "Private Profile" option, which limits access to the profile to friends specifically added by the user.
Profiles usually also include quizzes, slide-shows of pictures, polls for their friends to vote in, photo albums, blogs with a comments section for others' responses, a list of bands (see below) of which the profile-holder is a groupie, a Flash Box, which plays video, often linked from YouTube, or uploaded directly to Bebo's servers. Members can also add "widgets" which are more graphically rich components provided by an external site — typically something like a slide-show of the member's photos with some transition effect applied.
Bebo Bands
On 11 July 2006, "Bebo Bands" was launched. On this section of the site, bands or solo artists are able to create a profile showcasing their music. Along with undiscovered talents, it has a section called "New Music Only on Bebo" linking to established artist pages including Paris Hilton, Matt Willis, Orson, Coldplay, Kylie Minogue, The Kooks, Lily Allen, Down to Heart and others.
The band pages include; a band member list which is similar to the friends list on a normal profile, a list of "groupies" (fans who have added the band as though it were a friend), an area for tour dates, a blog, and a list of songs which have been uploaded for playing through Bebo's media player, or to be added to other user's playlists. These songs can be grouped by the band into albums, along with cover-art. All band members can edit the content of the band profile.
Although the Bebo Band section is intended for use by musical groups, the facility is also used by many to form clubs or societies, or as unofficial fan pages for established bands.
Bebo Authors
This is similar to the Bands feature, above. A member can create a "Bebo Authors" page, which is an area for them to showcase their written work. Other Bebo members can leave a review of each work, by rating it out of five stars and leaving a comment. Author pages are organised by genre/form, and can be browsed accordingly.
Controversy
Concern has been raised about potential risks to children from pedophiles accessing personal information contained in profiles. This can, however, be prevented by making your bebo profile private. A survey of two million profiles by Bigulo.com found that one in three publicly accessible profiles belonged to children under the age of eighteen.[6]
In March 2006 Norfolk County Council is believed to have become the first LEA in the United Kingdom to order all schools in its authority to block the website from school computers due to it being used for "unsavoury activities". [7]
In March 2006 in Londonderry, Bebo was used to organise a sectarian fight under the guise of a cross community football match.[8]
See also
References
- ^ Profile of Michael Birch on www.bebo.com, 9 Feb 2007
- ^ Alexa Internet traffic ranking for Bebo.com, , 9 February 2007
- ^ Hitwise Inc. Press Release, 11 July 2006
- ^ Bebo Announcement Blog
- ^ 2006 Year-end Zeitgeist
- ^ Survey of underage public profiles 1 November 2006
- ^ "Bebo Blocked in Norfolk Schools"
- ^ Murray McGinley (March 5 2007). "Community football match turns into riot". Derry Journal.
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