AOL buys bebo – the mobile angle

I take the dogs for a walk and I come back and AOL has purchased youth focused mobile social network bebo for USD 850 million.

But what about the mobile implications?

Tech Crunch as written a post on this that you can find here : http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/13/aol-buys-bebo-for-750-million/

What we think?
I have been speaking to bebo regularly and it was clear that a sale was in the pipeline since February.
But on the mobile side, bebo are fully behind the m.bebo.com offer.  I initially thought that perhaps AOL would kill bebo on the mobile side and would integrate it into the AIM and message style of social network. That is also an idea – but over the past few months AOL has been following a European mobile strategy.
AOL has an MVNO in Germany and this would be a great place for the vendor to start offering complete bebo youth services to the youth market.
Moreover, AOL is also working on its own search for mobile and has started indexing content. By owning bebo and indexing bebo for user generated mobile content – there might be a possibility for “real” mobile youth voice, data and online services.
I mean its only early days and I am talking out loud – but I will come back to this.

Related News:

1. MWC: Bebo makes social networking more mobile with Intercasting and ANTHEM
2. High Society – The Rise of Mobile Social Networking at Mobile World Congress
3. Tea with Bebo’s Laurence Pichot
4. Resourceshelf has reported on AOL’s new mobile search
5. NewBay Bebos