Bebo

Bebo is a social networking site where users can leave each other messages, share photos and search for acquaintances and friends.

Bebo was founded in 2005 as an alternative to MySpace, one of the first social networking websites. The site was acquired by AOL on March the 13th, 2008 for $850m. Bebo allows users to create a profile page with a personal photo, where personal details, hobbies and interests can be displayed. Users can leave each other messages, browse for friends and add each other to their list of friends.

As far as functionality and interactivity goes, Bebo offers the basics that you would expect from a social networking site, and is very much similar to MySpace in scope and possibility. Unfortunately, it is not as customisable or interactive as Facebook, its content-rich rival. Another unique aspect with Bebo is its regional user group. Certain social networking sites seem to be popular in certain countries, such as MySpace in the US and Hyves in the Netherlands. Bebo is very popular in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. Indeed, it was the most popular website in Ireland for a number of months, even outpacing Google.

Bebo has a slightly dated and cluttered look and feel, reminiscent of a time when computer screens were much smaller than they are now. All in all, it seems very similar to its major competitor, MySpace. Not much use is made of modern Web 2.0 features, such as widgets and DHTML, with more static pages seeming to be preferred. That said, the website has no performance problems and the pages do load very fast, meaning that does what it needs to do.

Registration is minimal, requiring your name, country of residence and e-mail. You will be required to specify your date of birth, but then this is to be expected on a social networking site. You are not required to verify your e-mail before being allowed to enter the site.

Bebo is a free service, supported by advertising. There are no premium accounts.

Bebo is a basic social networking site that has all the elementary features covered well, and its technical performance is also up to scratch. It is an especially interesting site if you are looking for lost friends and acquaintances in certain regions of the world where the site is popular, such as Ireland, Australia or New Zealand.

http://www.bebo.com/