Article Review: Bebo

Profiles – 3.5/4
When a new user first registers to become a member of BEBO, they are generated a user name which also makes part of their Bebo URL. Although the user doesn’t have choice of the user name, it is generally quite easy to remember… usually part of the account name with an ID number at the end.

Bebo profiles can be really enjoyable to create and this is probably due to the vast range of personalization choices available. There are lots of different skins to choose from and most of these are submitted by other Bebo users so they are quite unique. It is also simple enough to create your own skins which can be shared or locked.

Bebo performs the general functions that any other social networking site does, such as leaving personal or private comments, photo albums that can be commented on and tagged, blogs and applications. The user can also rearrange the profile modules by simply dragging and dropping. A few more simple customizations and bebo could probably be an easy upgrade to MySpace profiles.

Security - 4/4
Bebo is the only social networking site that is automatically sets your profile to private. If you would rather be public then security settings have to be manually changed. Suggestions are also offered, such as, members who are under 21 should not disclose their last name and age limits of people who are allowed to contact you can be set to a minimum and a maximum. If the user is having any problems with other users then they can be easily blocked or reported. There is also a safety link on every page detailing safety issues and privacy concerns.

However, it is a little surprising to see that Bebo does no have a devoted link on the profile page to manage privacy settings, it is simply jumbled in with all the other profile editing options. Also, other than making a profile simply private or public, additional options such as allowing the appearance of specific models to just friends could be a good option.

Networking Features – 3/4
There is nothing particularly extravagant about Bebo’s networking features, they are simply justifiable. It includes instant messaging, photo tags, videos and music. Skype can also be installed so that other users can see that you are available to talk directly over the computer. The video section allows the user to watch amateur episodes that are posted on the internet, as well as music videos from a wide variey of genres. Bebo also encourages local bands to set up a profile to display personal information.

Early this year, Bebo also launched a mobile site that can be accessed through any mobile phone with internet access.

The groups section of this social networking site is also a little disspointing. Members can create and join all different groups, but they are quite hard to navigate through as there is no categorised system.

Search – 2/4
Bebo users can browse any profile that is public but not by specific criteris however, which is good from a security point of view but limits users from easily expanpanding networks of friends. There is a search engine to search for friends by entering e0mail addresses but not simply by name, school or locality.

Help/Support – 3/4
Bebo can be contacted by using their e-mail supprt form but there is also a FAQ section that is quite helpful in an entertaining way. Thay take everyday, bland FAQ’s and address them with a somewhat humorous tone while still getting the point across.

Legitimate Friend Focus – 5/5
As mentioned, Bebo’s security is very tight which means that the chance of receiving unsolicited mail from odd, unknown users is very unlikely. Bebo strongly reccomends that you know any person that you add to part of your network in real life.

Summary
Bebo still has some work to do if they want to move in on the top two social networking sites (MySpace and Facebook). But considering their huge popularity in UK and Ireland, it seems only a matter of time before it becomes a US sensation. Although Bebo is highly regarded for its security, it would be nice to see better search or browse features and more privacy setting customisations.

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Links to sites useful for our course

www.psihq.ie - Psychological Society of Ireland
www.iadtsu.ie - IADT Student Union
www.aware.ie - Information about Depression
www.schizophrenia.com - Information about schizophrenia
www.ebaumsworld.com - Free Videos, Games and Jokes

Virtual Barber Shop

You'll need headphones for this to work. Make sure there is no noise around, close your eyes, turn the volume up a lil bit, hold and press headphone on your ears for better hearing, play it and enjoy this impressive audio work. Not a screamer not a prank!

Blogs in plain english

This is a video explaining blogs for anyone who doesn't know...

What is a Blog?

A blog (a contraction of the term "Web log") is a Web site, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.
Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal Online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (artlog), photographs (photoblog), sketches (sketchblog), videos (vlog), music (MP3 Blog), audio (podcasting), which are part of a wider network of social media. Micro-blogging is another type of blogging, one which consists of blogs with very short posts. As of December 2007, blog search engine Technorati was tracking more than 112 million blogs.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog)