April 16th, 2007
Lonelygirl15 spinoff to be exclusive on Bebo
The production team behind Lonelygirl15, the video blog of 15 year-old Bree that turned out to be a fake, are to launch a spinoff called "KateModern" which will premiere exclusively on the social networking site, Bebo.
From the press release:
"KateModern" will expand from the original storyline to that of a teenage university student in London and her struggle to balance her complex social life with the dark forces that shadow her. Containing all of the best loved elements of Lonelygirl15, "KateModern" will leverage the high involvement of its fan base, enabling them to post messages for the show’s characters, exchange plot ideas with each other and upload their own videos to the characters’ profile pages.
The title, KateModern, appears to be a play on words on London's Tate Modern art gallery, and setting the drama in London is very appropriate — not only is it a 'hip' city — but Bebo is far more popular in the UK (along with Australia and New Zealand) than it is in the US. Which also explains why Bebo users in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand will gain access to new episodes first (from July), after which they'll be available elsewhere on the net — and to the rest of the world.
This is probably quite a coup for Bebo, as not only is it an exclusive, but the interactive format that the Lonelygirl15 team have developed will play well on a social networking site and be attractive to advertisers who are looking beyond simple page views, and searching for that marketing holy grail called 'engagement'.
Steve O'Hear is a London-based consultant, educator, and journalist, focussing on the Internet and all aspects of digital technology. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
