Bebo SOLD - news just OUT!

Yeah, and good luck to it's new owners!

Perhaps you should hear my take on Bebo before continuing to read what will undoubtedly become a rant. I guess I'm just growing tired of seeing young people prostitute themselves with a digital camera. I'm all for posing but there is a difference between having a laugh and being provocative. Especially when I think half the profile images I see are from people who are either naive or wouldn't like the reality of living up to the image they portray.

But what about business. AOL gets Bebo for $850 million. It's a big player here in the UK - well among the kids it is. In my world Myspace is waning - and I mourn its passing - and Facebook is in the assendency. I have little love for Zukerberg's creation but it seems to be what my peers have chosen. And you can't socially network if you've got no one to connect with!

Perhaps the tweens and teens of Bebo have the purchasing power to propel profits, perhaps this is a good case of long-termism in an industry with increasing short product cycles. My observation, however, would be that the Bebo users are not here to buy, but rather to sell themselves. If Bebo are gonna generate those all-important click-thoughs they best be contacting the like of L'Oreal, Tigi or GHD for advertising!

No love for Bebo!

I hereby declare Bebo 'home of the shallow'!

Let me explain. All social networking sites have their quirks and idiosyncrasies. For every person desperate to write on a Facebook wall there's another who simply wants to leave a comment on MySpace. These both share the same function: communication. But what of the more banal, or arguably exploitive elements? Facebook has its gifts - a dollar for a clutch of pixels in a gaudy arrangement - but Bebo has 'love'.

In the realms of cyber communication what is less lovely than reducing 'show love' to a tiny red heart icon? Ok, so I know there is genuine abuse that happens online but this discussion is about how the majority engage. I'm seeing a generation grow up thinking they can bitch about each other in conversation but then get online and type 'ly' on the same person's profile and 'show love'. (They'll probably compliment the semi-pornographic photos too!)

There's nothing to be praised about people who rejoice in being vain or shallow. Perhaps the only consolation to those desperate to look cool amongst Bebo's scene kids and emos is that you can download free photo-editing software! But do you really want to be just another air-brushed androgyne flaunting your shallow existence to a leering world? I hope not!

So am I down on social networking? No. It's changed my life - but that's another story! My point is let's be careful where we look for love. Because I've got to say that so much of what I've seen on Bebo smacks way more of showing off than of showing love.

ROCKETBOOM on Social Networks...

Rocketboom put out a great video podcast - with many of their videos also available, as you can see, on YouTube. Here's their up-to-the-minute take on where Social Networking is at.

How Tom stopped peeping!

Tom is everybody's friend. Well in the world of MySpace he is unless, like me, you deleted him! It seems that him and Mark, who doesn't add himself as your friend when you sign up to Facebook, are causing something of a surprising change online.

This week TIME put out an article called Facebook: More Popular Than Porn. It states that, in the US, more 18-25s are spending time on social networks than on adult sites. It offers a few suggestions as to why. I'll add one it didn't

When I logged into MySpace tonight I girl whose name I can't remember wanted to be my friend. Like so many others she was new to myspace, didn't understand it but had a webcam - oh, and she thought I was cute. Why do all these friend requests have exactly the same body text? (rhetorical question!) The porn industry hasn't overlooked the success of social networking. But perhaps it hadn't banked on how much people would prefer to be titillated by the provocative posing of their online freinds!

Get networking...socially!

I recently saw a video from a Facebook developers conference where someone described Facebook as THE tech event of 2007 - funny that! That said, with a unique audience increase of 541% in the UK between December 06 and August 07 it is seeing impressive growth. In the same time frame MySpace has grown 20%! If you think I'm making this up visit Nielsen NetRatings.

This page looked like it was worth exploring...

Where is everyone?

According to Nielsen it seems they're on MSN! If they're not then try Facebook or Myspace and you're bound to find them there. If you want to follow the trends then visit Nielsen BuzzMetrics for a wealth of information.