AOL has announced that it is looking to sell-up or shut down social networking site Bebo after two years. Bought for USD 850 million in 2008 AOL has decided to that it is best cut ties with the site which was once one of the most popular social sites in the UK.
According to a report from the Press Association the decision to sell Bebo was announced by the company management during an employer meeting in which it was decided that AOL no longer had the resources to take Bebo forwards.
Bebo was once one of the most popular social sites in the UK
Not too long ago Bebo boasted around 10 million users and 40 million users worldwide however it failed to capture the US market and has slowly been on the decline since its acquisition and has been overpowered from social networking giant Facebook.
This news is another example of fragile nature of online businesses and once again shows the strength that Facebook possess. Some may argue that AOL has been a bit to hasty in their decision as it still has a good number of users albeit in Europe. However in a time when Facebook is the benchmark on social networking success it is no wonder AOL have decided not to pursue it anymore.
An interesting post from The Times Online lists 5 reasons why Bebo failed which makes for which outlines some of the issues in which Bebo faced which sheds some further light on AOL’s decision.