What's ahead for Bebo?

Bebo.com was incredibly popular, especially outside the US, when AOL paid $850 million in 2008 to acquire it. However, AOL didn't invest heavily enough in new features even though competitors like Facebook were aggressively expanding and adding enhanced services month after month. Facebook roared ahead in user numbers and media coverage.

AOL sold Bebo earlier this year (for a paltry $10 million) and now the new CEO insists that the site is "here to stay, and grow." He points to a recent increase in membership (bringing total users to 117 million worldwide) and notes that the personalisation features will help Bebo attract and retain users; he sees MySpace as eventually fading away.

Bebo recently introduced a new instant messaging service and says it has even become profitable. Meanwhile, MySpace is redesigning its site to hold onto users, and Facebook continues to innovate, even as its privacy policies and control of personal data draw attention and, at times, controversy.

What's ahead for Bebo, and how will it affect competition among social media in the coming years?

[Updating coverage of social media marketing in Chapter 9 of Essential Guide to Marketing Planning 2d edition]

Bye bye, Bebo?

Bebo, the social networking site owned by AOL, has been losing users and is in danger of being shut down. Facing intense competition from Facebook, in particular, Bebo has not been able to retain its once-loyal user base.

One source tells the Telegraph: "The company was not that good at listening to user feedback, doing market research or beta testing." Another source tells the Guardian: "At one point, we had 40 engineers when Facebook had something like 2,000. You can't produce a good product fast enough at that scale. In fact you can't even keep the site running properly."

AOL is trying to find a buyer or, failing that, will close Bebo down by the end of 2010.

Just two years ago, Bebo was one of the most popular social sites (if not the most popular) for teens worldwide. Today, it still has some faithful fans but was unable to overcome Facebook's never-ending expansion into all age ranges.

Even a market leader has to pay close attention to what customers like and don't like; even the strongest businesses have potential weaknesses that competitors can use to their advantage. Customer loyalty must be earned, day after day--and it can be lost with just a few clicks.

Bye bye, Bebo?