Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t know anything the young folk are up to. They could be planning a total overthrow of the over 30s, and the first I’d hear of it would be the rat-a-tat of ageist gunfire raking the doorway of Renards. Or, in my case, my local library.
However, it seems I can report that any such plans have come asunder under the influence of a powerful distraction. Bebo, I hear, is so narcotically popular that a number of colleges have banned access to the site to try to regain use of their computers again.
I asked Gareth Stack, who co-presents and produces the amusing weekly vid-cast Technolotics (and who is a TCD student himself) to explain how Bebo conquered the campuses and what its users do when they get there.
He did so, to my gratitude. So, if you want to know what it is that Bebo’s got that your site hasn’t read all about it now in “Why Do We Bebo?”
UPDATE: I hear that Dr. John Breslin of boards.ie fame cited Gareth’s idea that part of Bebo’s attraction has been its lack of a search facility while being interviewed on Newstalk 106.
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Gareth Stack Explains Bebo, and Very Well Too!
In my NewsTalk 106 interview today, I referenced psychology student Gareth Stack’s excellent article on Bebo for tuppenceworth.ie, where he compared the browsing and location of friends on the site to slot machine gambling. I thought it was a g…
My compliments to Gareth. That guy can really write.
Hey there, (just curious but promise I’m not a geek)…(hey nothing wrong with being one though)….
Anyway about this bebo thing….reason why people love it….(hint hint)….just read the profiles of different cultures with different backgrounds…..I’ll help you guys out on the island culture….we have big families….relatives….our parents would have approx 13 or more brothers and sisters….hence a hundred cousins….producing 3rd generation cousins have been created….hence the catching up….on what the hell everyone in the family have been up to which is “important”…the only time family have time to catch up is either at a annoying family reunion….or email…but this bebo thing is helpful because the whole family can hook up in a small network without having to create a website….also with a small country eg. nz….(where I’m from) or any small country….it’s great for gossip to find out what an old school mate is up to etc…..another (reunion) or if your a teenager….where the high school crush turned up….ha…gossip city….stalking….(which is heaps of fun)…. it is a good excuse for the MUNCHO MALE to act who whether they like it or not are more metrosexual ….having the same tendencies but in private…..do I make sense….anyway what I’m trying to say is you don’t need some psychology student to tell you what Bebo or any new technology is about eg. t.v hollywood movies….(predictable)….news….(predictdable) (run by the government)…..we are all part of this internet site business….hence showing your own psychological preference of any site that is being shown (ebay) etc….it’s just one of those things…..in this day in age or any day in age….you can either delete them or join em…..and believe you me….it’s more fun joining em! …..and of course let’s not forget budget wise to catch up with anyone it’s cheaper way cheaper in fact free!!!! to catch up this way….almost like a world map to find out or hear from someone that you wouldn’t of found out 5 years ago where they were….unless you could afford a $1,000 airfare ticket….so in my defence of bebo (including the annoying ads and branding)…..on behalf of the middle working class…..I SALUTE THEM! Anything free….hell bring it on!!!!! Coz the petrol prices at the moment SUCK SUCK SUCK!!!!!! HE HE HE…hey have a good day…strangers on the other side of the world…..:)
I THINK BEBO IS GREAT ND UR SITE IS SO BORIN GIVE IT SOME LIFE !!!
this artical bors me its like a college lecture get a life no one cares oh my god u sad act get ur self a girlfriend (not that any1 would go out wiv u) u ugly old man nd get a life
u are sad ill give yoo tht u idiot get a life yh? god u must b the most boring person everrr!!! ha ha
Hi sxc i’ll go out wiv u i love ur artical just 2 say giv us a email nd u will never forget it i love u sooooo much nd i’ll giv it 2 u HARD so giv us an email i love u xxxxxxxxxxxx
I think that bebo is a good way to stay in touch with my friends and find old friends but I’m aware that it is dangerous! while a ban is effective, it doesn’t stop people using the website so in order to prevent violations, bebo.com should be monitored more carefully!
Who do I sign up for bebo?
Clare,
Who do you want to sign up?
Your article was good, fair points, but bebo is not the evil brainwashing site you make it out to be. It`s a laugh, you can catch up with friends, who are all at different parts of the world, and yes you can use other methods to catch up but there`s nothing wrong in using bebo, its fun, everybody has it, and as someone else has already said, it`s free, we should avail of this. It may not be orignal but a competitive market is good for us it makes products improve for our benefit. I do agree bebo is addictive and I admit to being a beboholic myself……….but is this such a bad thing?
Thats an excellent article. I see people every day in college just aimlessly clicking away on bebo (female more often than not). The lack of a search facility in bebo seems to have been addressed by a 3rd party website called bigulo.com. I wonder will that have any impact?
Bebo is the spawn of Satan, and Beboers will all die of premature brain tumors. Those that aren’t already brain dead.
well that was a waste of 5mins of my life