In the UK, and particularly in Ireland, the social networking site known as Bebo is a big hit. Apple’s also more than a little bit popular. So it turned some heads when Apple announced a new arrangement that would involve both iTunes and Bebo.
Credit goes to the Financial Times – more specifically, to Maija Palmer – for breaking this story. “From Wednesday, Bebo’s 8.8m users in the UK and Ireland will be able to buy music directly from the profile of any musician who has a Bebo profile and whose music is available on iTunes,” writes Palmer.
Let’s now spend a moment establishing what sorts of people those users are. In short, they might be called fanatics. This past March, Bebo was able to put out a press release declaring itself the most popular website in Ireland – ahead of even Yahoo and Google (and yes, Bebo had stats to back up this assertion).
Then, earlier today, Direct Traffic noted, “In terms of search terms, ‘bebo’ overtook ‘ebay’ to become the most popular UK internet search, demonstrating the popularity of the social networking site.” Not bad.
Now there’s the deal with Apple, and Palmer notes that it’s the first time Apple has ever “linked iTunes to a social networking site.” When Google sweeps in to buy up some tiny startup, it’s easy to see who’s benefiting, but in this case, it’s almost hard to say; Bebo and Apple should both reap large rewards from the deal.
