Former Grazia publisher to head social shopping network

Dawn Bebe, the publisher behind the launch of EMAP’s successful weekly Grazia, has been appointed to be managing director of a shopping social network to be launched this summer.

The Osoyou.com website is backed by a venture capitalist company Brightstation Ventures, which also owns 50% of blogging company Shiny Media.

Bebe left EMAP just before Christmas, before the radio-to-magazine group embarked on a huge cost-cutting exercise resulting in a spate of top-level redundancies.

About the new launch, Bebe says that the website is “for women who cannot get enough of shopping.”

The website will allow users access to a wide range of products and share style tips and ideas with the like-minded community. It will allow users to drag and drop items into their own style file and share knowledge and advice to other users who sign up to the social network.

Bebe, who started her career as a reporter on Just 17 and went on to be the launch editor of Big! and teen title Bliss. In 1998, she was made publishing director of New Woman and was subsequently promoted to managing director of EMAP Elan, which included More and New Woman.