Bebo may have hoped yesterday would be a change in fortunes for the struggling company. But if today’s announcement is anything to go by, their competitors are not going down easily without a fight. In direct response to Bebo revealing its ‘Blab’ video messaging service, Vine fought back with an announcement of its own. Vine Messages allows users to send videos directly to friends rather than posting them for all to see . Called ‘Vine Messages’, the new app will give Vine users the ability to send friends videos and text in private messages. This not only tackles Bebo, but could also send shivers down the spine of popular messaging services such as WhatsApp, Snapchat and Facebook. Using Vine Messages, available now on both iOS and Android, users can either start one-to-one conversations or select multiple recipients, much like on WhatsApp. In a nod to Snapchat, they can also choose to only receive private messages from friends. Vine Messages, like Blab, also allows users to send messages to people who don’t have the app. As Bebo enters the messaging war, this move should let them know how tough the battle will be with their rivals. Picture perfect? Vine Messages lets users take a video (left) and send it to selected people (right) To reply to a message (left) users hold the camera button and send their response (right) The free Blab app, pictured, lets users record and send videos to friends, even if the recipient doesn't have the iOS app . After almost a year of teasers, social network Bebo kickstarted it's revival with the release of a video messaging app yesterday . Called Blab, the free service lets users record and send videos to friends, even if the recipient doesn't have the iOS app. It is the first of three apps set to be released by the California-based social network this year, and signals that the once floundering firm is getting a reboot. The site itself is also going through a refresh and is set to relaunch 'soon'. Bebo was once the most popular social network in the UK. But following the launch of rival sites such as Facebook and Twitter, its numbers dwindled and the site, as its users knew it, eventually closed down. At the height of its popularity in 2008 - three years after it was created - the site was bought by AOL for $850 million (£510 million). Only five years later the site was trailing behind its rivals in terms of user numbers, and had developed a reputation for being supposedly rife with bullying. To save the company from going under in 2013, its founder Michael Birch bought his site back for a cut-price $1million (£600,000). Birch posted a video shortly after saying it was time to ‘wipe the slate clean’ and promised its users the service would come back fighting. Reports about the Blab app first appeared in February this year, and now the app is available on the Apple App Store. According to the app’s listing: ‘Blab is . the fun app that lets you send quick video messages to your friends and . family! It’s free to Blab anyone, anywhere in the world.' To send a Blab, users select a contact, hold the screen to record their video message, and release to send, pictured left.  If the recipient has the app, a notification appears on the app’s icon. If they don’t, the recipient receives the video in a text message with a link that opens the clip in a browser window . The app connects with the contacts in a user’s phone. To send a Blab, users select a contact, hold the screen to record their video message, and release to send. If . the recipient has the app, a notification appears on the app’s . icon. If they don’t, the recipient receives the video in a text message . with a link that opens in a browser window. Vine . and Video in Instagram work in a similar way, but the video clips can . only be sent to other Vine and Instagram users – although they can also . be shared on other social networks. Blab doesn’t set a time limit on its videos either, like Vine’s six-second and Instagram’s 15-second rules. Blab has also taken its privacy lead from . the likes of Snapchat and only lets users watch the last video they . were sent. As soon as a new Blab is received from that contact, the destroys the old one . and replaces it. The current Bebo website shows more than 780,000 people have signed up to be part of the ‘new Bebo’. In . a video, Birch promises users that all their posts and data is safe and . will be available once the new site goes live, although doesn't specify . when that will be. The . site still faces stiff competition from the likes of Facebook, and the . Blab app goes up against behemoths including WhatsApp, Snapchat and . Viber. The other Bebo apps . are expected later this year, but the company has not yet revealed more . information about what they will be. What's clear, though, is that they will be facing stiff competition.
New update allows Vine users to send private messages .
But the messages don’t have to be video – they can just be text .
Others can receive the messages even if they’re not on Vine .
Announcement of ‘Vine Messages’ comes a day after Bebo revealed their ‘Blab’ video messaging service .
Bebo may have hoped yesterday would be a change in fortunes for the struggling company. But if today’s announcement is anything to go by, their competitors are not going down easily without a fight. In direct response to Bebo revealing its ‘Blab’ video messaging service, Vine fought back with an announcement of its own. Vine Messages allows users to send videos directly to friends rather than posting them for all to see . Called ‘Vine Messages’, the new app will give Vine users the ability to send friends videos and text in private messages. This not only tackles Bebo, but could also send shivers down the spine of popular messaging services such as WhatsApp, Snapchat and Facebook. Using Vine Messages, available now on both iOS and Android, users can either start one-to-one conversations or select multiple recipients, much like on WhatsApp. In a nod to Snapchat, they can also choose to only receive private messages from friends. Vine Messages, like Blab, also allows users to send messages to people who don’t have the app. As Bebo enters the messaging war, this move should let them know how tough the battle will be with their rivals. Picture perfect? Vine Messages lets users take a video (left) and send it to selected people (right) To reply to a message (left) users hold the camera button and send their response (right) The free Blab app, pictured, lets users record and send videos to friends, even if the recipient doesn't have the iOS app . After almost a year of teasers, social network Bebo kickstarted it's revival with the release of a video messaging app yesterday . Called Blab, the free service lets users record and send videos to friends, even if the recipient doesn't have the iOS app. It is the first of three apps set to be released by the California-based social network this year, and signals that the once floundering firm is getting a reboot. The site itself is also going through a refresh and is set to relaunch 'soon'. Bebo was once the most popular social network in the UK. But following the launch of rival sites such as Facebook and Twitter, its numbers dwindled and the site, as its users knew it, eventually closed down. At the height of its popularity in 2008 - three years after it was created - the site was bought by AOL for $850 million (£510 million). Only five years later the site was trailing behind its rivals in terms of user numbers, and had developed a reputation for being supposedly rife with bullying. To save the company from going under in 2013, its founder Michael Birch bought his site back for a cut-price $1million (£600,000). Birch posted a video shortly after saying it was time to ‘wipe the slate clean’ and promised its users the service would come back fighting. Reports about the Blab app first appeared in February this year, and now the app is available on the Apple App Store. According to the app’s listing: ‘Blab is . the fun app that lets you send quick video messages to your friends and . family! It’s free to Blab anyone, anywhere in the world.' To send a Blab, users select a contact, hold the screen to record their video message, and release to send, pictured left.  If the recipient has the app, a notification appears on the app’s icon. If they don’t, the recipient receives the video in a text message with a link that opens the clip in a browser window . The app connects with the contacts in a user’s phone. To send a Blab, users select a contact, hold the screen to record their video message, and release to send. If . the recipient has the app, a notification appears on the app’s . icon. If they don’t, the recipient receives the video in a text message . with a link that opens in a browser window. Vine . and Video in Instagram work in a similar way, but the video clips can . only be sent to other Vine and Instagram users – although they can also . be shared on other social networks. Blab doesn’t set a time limit on its videos either, like Vine’s six-second and Instagram’s 15-second rules. Blab has also taken its privacy lead from . the likes of Snapchat and only lets users watch the last video they . were sent. As soon as a new Blab is received from that contact, the destroys the old one . and replaces it. The current Bebo website shows more than 780,000 people have signed up to be part of the ‘new Bebo’. In . a video, Birch promises users that all their posts and data is safe and . will be available once the new site goes live, although doesn't specify . when that will be. The . site still faces stiff competition from the likes of Facebook, and the . Blab app goes up against behemoths including WhatsApp, Snapchat and . Viber. The other Bebo apps . are expected later this year, but the company has not yet revealed more . information about what they will be. What's clear, though, is that they will be facing stiff competition.
‘Blab’ video messaging service, Vine fought back allows users to send videos directly to friends private messages from friends. Vine Messages, people who don’t have the app. As Bebo enters the and send videos to friends, even if the recipient don’t, the recipient receives the video in a text Instagram users – although they can also . be