Well this is hardly news now, they had a 10 minute discussion about this on the BBC last night for instance. As most of us will have heard, AOL have announced plans to either sell or shut Bebo.
To me this is a shame, Bebo was not only an early contender in the what could be called the second generation of social networks (the first generation being the likes of Friends Reunited and Classmates, which seemed to be generally used to locate old flames.) It was also for a while at least, pretty successful.
Looking back the rise of Facebook as the leading social network, now seems relentless. A few years ago though, despite not being as well know, Bebo was having a pretty good time of it. Bebo whether by luck or design had carved out a niche amongst the younger set. It was also popular in places where other social networks had yet to reach.
Founded by Michael and Xochi Birch in 2005, the company was sold to AOL in 2008, in what would seem to be part of an AOL strategy to have a ‘full spectrum’ web offering strategy. AOL’s difficulties and demergers have been well chronicled, and it appears that AOL had neither the resources or the focus to ensure the continued growth of Bebo.
In social networking though it appears that if you aren’t growing you’re shrinking. Bebo’s core audience also, mainly not possessing credit cards or having disposable cash weren’t the ideal demograpic for monetization purposes. It must be said though that in some respects Bebo continued to pioneer, with online serials, branded video advertising and access to an audience that is fairly adept at spending other peoples money (how often did you bug your parents for something you’d seen advertised.) Some interesting industry reaction here.
I suspect that the Bebo story isn’t over yet, and that a buyer will as unlikely as it now seems, be found. I think though that once the critical mass and momentum has been lost, it will take a lot to recover it. As talked of before, there is consolidation in the industry, and routes to market are disappearing. Bebo might be a more high profile example, but it does appear that whilst audiences continue to rise, the ways to effectively reach them decline.

Rob, opinionated blogger, On-e