Revamped Bebo strikes back at Facebook
Climb every mountain
Once up on a time, Bebo was a popular social network with teenagers. Indeed, the site was established before the term 'social network' came into regular use. But that was before Facebook really captured the public imagination and rose to its current lofty perch.
The decline in Bebo's audience and revenue coincided with its acquisition by AOL in 2008. Last year the site changed hands again and new owner, Criterian Capital Partners, has now relaunched the site, focusing on personal news updates and adding ways for users to interact.
"It's been 9 months since we purchased Bebo from AOL and since then we've been listening to (and in some cases even working closely with) many of you to find out how to make Bebo a better place," Bebo told its users, introducing the new features.
"Most recently you’ve noticed a new look for Bebo and you may have even heard that Bebo's original founder, Michael Birch, has come back to help us design a social network fit for the future," the site announced.
The new look is very much influenced by Facebook, something that seems not to have gone down well with some users.
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"I don't see why yous have to copy the facebook layout," wrote user 'Commander Saturn'. "I can understand yous want more users and everything, but the fact of the matter is, people come here because it's not facebook. It used to be so original and awesome really.. but now it's just.. it's pathetic really
Please, consider changing it back?"
'Dr. Catherine Deane' chipped in: "All it's done so far is make me want to delete loads of people from my friends list. When the home page told you what your top 100 friends were doing that was okay, but everyone on your friends list? I think I should have a massive cull."
"I'm sorry but this getting rediculous and i have held my tongue for too long," wrote 'Lady Annabeth Aquamell'. "Bebo attracted me to it because it was different. Not because it was facebook. I can't stand facebook. You have taken away peoples privacy and where the hell do i find my mail? Change bebo or you will lose alot of peole. This layout sucks."
User comments are always difficult to deal with, they are fickle beasts. That said it looks like Bebo has some work on its hands to claw something back from the Facebook behemoth.