Tag Archive: Joanna Shields

Yahoo must have been sweating a little. Microsoft had teamed up with Facebook tosell ads, and Google had a similar deal with MySpace. It must have been feeling like the wallflower that wasn’t askedto dance.  

But now Yahoo can breathe easier. It’s signed an agreement with social networking site Bebo to sell most of the site’s display ads in the UK and Ireland. As part of the deal, Bebo will also offer Yahoo Answers, and the pair are working on a toolbar that will allow users to monitor their network when not on the site. Bebo claims to have over 11 million users in the UK and Ireland.

Social network Bebo has announced that it will team up with Microsoft to use Windows Live instant messaging on its site.  Bebo is especially popular in the UK, and the new service will let its users – which number around 36 million globally – to both import and export contacts between their Bebo pageand their Windows Live list.   Additionally, there are plans to introduce a feature whereby users would be able to message each other directly from their page, simply by adding an “IMMe” icon.   Bebo has discovered that about 90% of its users also use Windows Live Messenger, so the partnership seems obvious.   “Our core strength is not building applications.We’re more of an open platform and much more likely to partner than build it ourselves,” said Joanna Shields, president of Bebo’s international business.   Microsoft has around 300 millionWindows Live users, but this is the first time the company has partnered on a communications service with a social networking site.