In the race to unseat MySpace as the dominant social network in the U.S., Bebo is definitely one of the close runners-up. In many ways it has been the "MySpace of the UK and Ireland" attracting the same amount of media attention (and criticism over safety issues) as MySpace. I had been emailing back and forth with Jim Scheinman, Bebo's VP of Business Development, and decided to interview him about the site for Ypulse...

Ypulse: How is Bebo different from MySpace and Facebook?

Jim Scheinman: There are some broad based aspects that social networks could be considered to have in common e.g. blogs, music and the grouping around schools and colleges, but those who regularly use social networking sites will understand that each site is very different. For example; feedback from Beboers and other stakeholders has highlighted the view that Bebo has as a cleaner interface, less invasive advertising and more intuitive navigation.

From the launch of Bebo in July 2005, Bebo’s founders, Michael and Xochi Birch , sought to develop what they believe is the best social networking site. I joined them from Friendster where I was one of the first employees of the pioneering SN site. Using our combined knowledge and experience from Friendster and the Birch's first SN site Ringo (which they sold to Tickle in 2004) we knew what features would work and what wouldn’t. And, we knew how to develop the best framework for a social networking site allowing for scaling and future innovation. These initial, but important, steps have provided Bebo with a robust platform upon which to build allowing it to introduce new areas such as Bebo Bands and Bebo TV in a way that is unique and always intuitive to its users.

Our experience also taught us that attracting users is important, but keeping hold of them once you've got them is the aim -- building the stickiness factor into the site. This is where the real value is and is one of the biggest differentiators between Bebo and other sites such as My Space and Facebook. Beboers spend more time on Bebo than any other SN site -- we have the most engaged audience. Also, MySpace is skewing older now (35+), while Beboers are teens and young adults (13-24). And while facebook is a good utility for US college students, Bebo is a much more immersive and engaging multimedia experience.

Ypulse newsletter readers: Visit the site for the rest of the interview!

YP: Do you think there has been a similar "moral panic" about predators abroad over Bebo as there has been about MySpace?

JS: Sadly children face risks in everyday life, whether playing in their school grounds or on the internet. Bebo is very conscious of this and we are working hard to ensure our site is not abused.

We recently employed Dr Rachel O'Connell as our Chief Safety Officer and she is working with a variety of stakeholders from around the world including; anti-bullying organizations, the Home Office Internet Task Force on Social Networking (in the UK), educationalists and the wider industry. Dr O'Connell is one of the foremost experts in the area of child safety on the internet and we’re delighted she left the world of academia to join Bebo full time.

We believe that a combination of education, monitoring and robust reporting structures are the keys to keeping young people safe online. Education being vitally important in creating a greater understanding of all aspects of social networking.

YP: What has Bebo done to try to make the site safer for teens?

JS: Bebo is constantly evolving its systems and practices, collaborating with experts in a variety of fields (Home Office Internet Task Force on Social Networking, Get Safe Online, education and law enforcement agencies from around the world) and we will continue to do so to maintain Bebo as a safe online environment.

We recently launched a comprehensive suite of anti-bullying tools as part of Bebo's wider ongoing safety and security strategy - users can now opt to pre-screen comments and images that others attempt to post to their Bebo homepage. In addition users can choose to block specific users from further interaction via Bebo services. This was the first stage in the latest raft of measures which we are rolling out and later this month we will launch a Guide for Parents.

Since the beginning we have provided guidance to users and parents on how to stay safe online on our site and we are very clear that we will expose any illegal behaviours to the full force of the law.

We are also working hard to educate and dispel the myth that you are anonymous online. Every website's IP address is unique. Even if fake e-mails and fake addresses are used, a computer can be traced...we are working to communicate to individuals, including teens, that nothing is anonymous online. In essence, a "digital record of bad behavior" exists and can be retrieved.

YP: How many teens are on Bebo, what percentage of total users are teens?

JS: Teens are often the early adopters of new trends and that's no different with Bebo. Our most active group of Beboers are 13-19 and our demographics are primarily 13-24. We launched Bebo in 6 countries -- the U.S., Canada , UK , Ireland , Australia and New Zealand and those countries make up 99% of our traffic today. We also launched around high schools and colleges, and that age demographic makes us about 85% our demos today (13-24).

Our audiences are slightly different in each of our 6 core markets and like us our audience is starting to age, especially in countries where we have fully penetrated the teen audience, like in Ireland where we have more than 90% of Irish teens on Bebo. If you're an Irish teenager in Ireland and you're not on Bebo, you’re missing out on a part of popular culture, part of life. Since our minimum age is 13, when we penetrate the market like this, the only place to go is older. But, I think we'll always be for the 13-30 year old market. We’re not looking to be for 35+ yr olds like you’re hearing from MySpace.

YP:Have you noticed any new trends with how teens are using the site over the past year?

JS:: Social networks such as Bebo are all about enabling users to share content. Those who share great content get kudos within the social networking community and as such they are motivated to create great quality content. The depth and breadth of this content amongst this audience is increasing rapidly, it started with simple photos and has evolved to full blown production quality videos.

Teenagers have discovered that, for the first time, each and every individual has a way of showcasing their own talents without the need for a commercial infrastructure or marketing budgets. For example; Bebo Bands has highlighted a number of teens as great DJs putting together playlists that are picked-up across the site and displayed on thousands upon thousands of Bebo homepages.

We are also seeing an emerging trend of people seeking support amongst their online networks as evidenced by examples such as a Breast Cancer Awareness page that was put up by a Beboer last month and also in the degree to which users are debating topics and discussing issues - whether a it's hot brand or something in the news. There is a real empathy and a sense of community on the site.

YP: Are any educators in the UK or other countries using Bebo in innovative ways at school?

JS: We are seeing a great deal of interest amongst colleges regarding the potential that SN sites provide in regard to attracting new students and this is something that we will be exploring further with them.

Educators do believe that social networks provide great opportunities for social development and education and Bebo is currently working with teachers to develop a greater understanding of social networking and its potential.

YP: Anything else you feel like Ypulse readers should know?

We are seeing more and more that individuals who succeed online are becoming influencers who then inspire and stimulate trends and fashions. Leading Brands are discovering the power of associating themselves with these cool people and are embracing user generated content as a great way for them to build, extend and substantiate their brands.

We are seeing brands starting to leverage the trends in for example video with viral video advertising. For the first time television style advertising has become a reality online, but the differences are that we can target the commercials to the demos that the brand is seeking, and the Beboer can click and take an immediate action in response to that commercial. This is hugely powerful when trying to communicate with today’s teenage audiences who are spending more time online and tuning out traditional advertising. In order for Brands to reach Gen Y, they've got to engage them with great content, and if they do that, Beboers will engage with that content, make it their own (like by reskinning their Bebo homepage with a cool branded Nike or ipod skin) and spread the brands message virally through the word of mouth marketing tools that are available to them on Bebo. This is all opt-in, we never push any branding or advertising on Beboers. Again, if it's great content (funny, emotionally moving, cool, etc..), then the Beboers will love it, even if it is a commercial ;-) This is our business model -- we sell Bebo Engagement Marketing programs to companies like Coke & Disney and many more...

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