Bebo's launch of 'Open Media'

I went to Bebo’s launch of ‘Open Media’ yesterday at BAFTA on Piccadilly (picture and video of Jamie Cullen below). Open Media allows broadcasters and labels – aka ‘Partners’ - to provide short and long form content totally free to Bebo’s 40 million members. Partners include CBS, MTV, BBC, Channel Four, ITN (which is either odd or hopefully unrealistic, given Bebo’s demographics)‘ and BSkyB.

As with YouTube, Partners’ will not be charged, and they can even use their own players. So, although the BBC will use a Bebo player initially, it will be moving over to using BBC’s own iPlayer. And although not applicable to BBC, Partners can advertise freely and even retain 100% of any advertising revenues.

Open Media allows users can store and curate their favourite video content within their own profiles, and virally distribute that content throughout their ‘friends’ network and the wider Bebo ‘community’. So for companies, it’s a no-brainer. Instead of waiting for people to come to their own sites (e.g. BBC iPlayer and 4OD), companies are going to where the hard to reach audiences are.

What’s in it for Bebo? Bebo claims that the addition of thousands of hours of premium content from major global entertainment and emerging new media companies will increase users’ engagement with the site and thus the value of Bebo’s own advertising and brand associations.

Because social networks are built for individuals, corporations need to tread carefully. In her blog, Jemima Kiss says companies need to be fronted by people that can talk with and engage with other users, or they need to present themselves as companies. Hence, instead becoming people becoming ‘friends’ of companies on Bebo, members can become ‘fans’. But I think that the problem with companies presenting themselves as such means that they are open to accusations of not engaging with the community. Bebo, YouTube and MySpace are characterised by interaction – being active members of communities. As with smaller online communities, people who don’t actively participate are considered lurkers and are even flamed. If companies aren’t there to participate and conform to the norms of the group, then other members will wonder why they are there.