Little Use of Social Networking Site Bebo to Force Closure?

Declining use of social networking site Bebo may result in AOL selling or simply closing the site down.

When AOL purchased Bebo for 850 million dollars in 2008, it may have seemed like a logical move. After all, use of social networking is so integrated into our lives that when dogs can access Twitter or someone Tweets during their Wedding Vows , it is unlikely to cause many raised eyebrows. However, making an effective challenge to Facebook’s popularity was always going to prove problematic.

In a memo, executive vice president of AOL Ventures Jon Brod said:

“As we evaluate our portfolio of brands against our strategy, it is clear that social networking is a space with heavy competition, and where scale defines success. Bebo, unfortunately, is a business that has been declining and, as a result, would require significant investment in order to compete in the competitive social networking space.”

Use of social networking remains as popular as ever but as Brod stated, Bebo is unable to compete against the likes of Facebook or even MySpace and AOL fund cannot fund an attempt to breathe new life into Bebo:

“AOL is not in a position at this time to further fund and support Bebo in pursuing a turnaround in social networking.” Brod added.

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