Webware 100 winner: Bebo

Site: Bebo.com
Category: Social & Publishing

Bebo is a popular social network based out of San Francisco. Users can create their own profiles, and in typical social networking style, list favorite bands, pictures, and activities to share with friends on the service. Like competitor MySpace, Bebo is music-centric, and provides bands with ways to share their music using band profile pages.

What may be more interesting than the service itself is its history. Bebo was the top Google search query for all of 2006, according to the search engine's yearly zeitgeist. It's also the top-visited Web site in all of Ireland. In early 2008, it was snatched up by AOL for a staggering $850 million.