Bebo faces closure

Bebo, the social networking site, may be shut down by owner AOL.

Sofia's Diary
Sofia’s Diary

AOL is considering closing or selling the site which it bought for $1bn (£550 million) in 2008 as it evaluates its brands against a strategy set in May last year.

The internet company says Bebo has been in decline and that it would require “significant investment in order to compete in the competitive social network space”.

It said in a statement: “AOL is not in a position at this time to further fund and support Bebo in pursuing a turnaround in social networking.”

The decision on the future of Bebo will be made by May 2010.

Bebo was a pioneer in broadcasting online TV series, such as Sophia’s Diary, and allowed companies to place their brands in content via a multi-media narratives that users interacted with through the site.

Last week, former Bebo CEO Joanna Shields joined rival social networking site Facebook as VP of sales and business development, EMEA, after leaving Bebo last spring.