AOL has officially launched Bebo the social networking site for India today. Bebo launches with a content tie up with newly launched Turner Broadcasting-owned Hindi entertainment channel Real. The Real TV Show Sarkaar ki duniya is currently be showcased via the Bebo Platform.
Part of Global Expansion Strategy
AOL acquired Bebo last year for a hefty 850 million dollars and this expansion into the Indian market is part of the expansion plan for Bebo to go global. Over the last week Bebo has launched in seven new geographies including France, Germany, Italy, Spain and The Netherlands.
How popular is Bebo?
- Bebo garners a total of 22 million unique visitors worldwide.
- Ranks No.1 in the Europe as a social networking site.
- Ranks No.3 in North America
- India contributes just 2% of Bebo’s Traffic (As per alexa)
AOL late yet again?
AOL was itself late in entering the Indian market and now with bebo as well it isn’t the first international social network that has entered India. As far as social networking is concerned Bebo is trailing international entrants like Myspace which already has an India specific site and has attempted similar TV tie ups as well and there are Orkut and Facebook which have never needed to be India specific as they already have a sizeable Indian audience. Ofcourse not to discount Indian networks like Bigadda, Ibibo and others that have been garners audiences via promotions as well.
All in all bebo enters a cluttered market with very little to differentiate itself from others. In Europe bebo caters to a very yound audience which could be classified in the category of tweens and it remains to be seen which age group it targets in India. From the looks of the current tie up with Real it doesn’t look like they would be looking at tweens in India and its more a broader entertainment consuming audience. If Bebo does go after Tv and bollywood entertainment as a USP then it would be directly competing with the likes of Myspace, Bigadda and Ibibo as all of them are entertainment oriented social networks.
