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, hi5.com, Xanga and Yahoo! 360. The site has over 22,000,000 registered members (although a much smaller number of members are regularly active on the website^{citation needed]}). Bebo is the 222th most popular English language website, according to Alexa Internet, and the second most popular in Ireland according to the Irish Independent (17th in the UK).^[1] In the US, Bebo was the fastest growing social networking site in June 2006 according to Hitwise, Inc.^[2] Bebo as a keyword was also listed as the term most representative of search trends on Google in 2006.^[3]

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 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 publically 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, photo albums, blogs with a comments section for others' responses, a list of bands (see below) of which the profile-holder is a groupie, and a Bebo TV box, which plays video, often linked from YouTube, or uploaded direct to Bebo this is called the flashbox.

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 and more. 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 supposed to be for bands, there are a great amount of clubs and groups also registered.

Controversy

Concerns have been raised about potential risks to children from pedophiles accessing personal information contained in profiles. In Ireland, for example, the Sunday Tribune experiment whereby a reporter posing as a 13 year old girl set up an account, and proceeded to gather personal information and photos of other teenage girls. A survey of 2 million profiles by Bigulo.com found that 1 in 3 publicly accessible profiles belonged to children under the age of 18.^[4]

Bebo has taken steps to improve users safety, all users have the option to select who their page can be viewed by if they wish.

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". ^[5]