Bebo Gets a Redesign Under New Owner

Remember Bebo? It rose to popularity shortly after MySpace and, like MySpace, was outdone by Facebook. Well, Bebo (again, like MySpace) is getting a makeover in an attempt to save it from obsolescence.

Bebo has changed hands quite a bit as of late. It was purchased by AOL for $850 million back in 2008, the height of the social network’s popularity. However, Bebo didn't do much for AOL (or AOL didn't know what the hell to do with it) and the site was sold after just two years for considerably less than what AOL paid for it. Okay, considerably less is an understatement; AOL got just $10 million for Bebo.

However, it seems the new owner is determined to get the most from its investment. According to the Telegraph, the new company, Criterion Capital Partners, brought founder Michael Birch on as an investor and he’s been working on a redesign along with current CEO Adam Levin.

The new site goes live this week and will allow users to log in via Facebook, check who's been looking at their page and pick and choose who shows up in their news feed. Expanding on Facebook's 'like' button, there's also the ability to add "Cool, Funny, Sorry or OMG" emoticons. The BBC cites chief product officer Kevin Bachus as saying just having a 'like' button means things are too limited.

"One of the things that struck me about other social networks is saying thanks to everyone sending condolences on say my mother's death. Someone saying he "likes" this is limiting and a bit strange," says Bachus, who is credited as being one of the co-founders of Microsoft's XBox.

Traditionally seen as a social network for the younger demographic, the Telegraph reports that Bebo plans to continue on that patch, targeting users too young for Facebook (under 14).

Further Reading

Telegraph

BBC