“Apple has finally acknowledged what the market has been telling it since it first debuted Ping, its social network for music, in September of 2010,” John Paczkowski reports for AllThingsD. “The service is a failure.”
“And rather than continue to maintain Ping, the company is abandoning it and using its partnerships with Twitter and Facebook to make its various software and service offerings social in a way that consumers actually care about,” Paczkowski reports. “Sources close to the company say that Ping, which still exists today in iTunes 10.6.3 and the iOS 6 beta — where it doesn’t work, will be gone with the software’s next major release, likely scheduled for this fall. And at that point Apple’s social networking offerings will shift to Twitter and new partner Facebook entirely.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Ping needed to be ponged long ago. It’s the Google+, the Zune, and the Apple hockey puck mouse – all rolled into one big ball of shit – of music-based social networking.
Related articles:
Will Apple (finally) put poor Ping out of its misery? – May 31, 2012
Wired’s Levy: Apple’s half-baked iTunes’ Ping – December 27, 2010
Apple’s adds playlist creation, publishing to iTunes’ Ping – December 13, 2010
2010’s 15 Biggest Tech Flops: #6 Apple iTunes Ping – December 10, 2010
Facebook blocked Ping over data reciprocity, says Zuckerberg – November 17, 2010
Apple’s iTunes Ping arrives on iPad – November 15, 2010
It’s official: Apple’s iTunes Ping in pact with Twitter – November 11, 2010
Steve Jobs has Facebook’s Zuckerberg to dinner at his house to discuss Apple’s Ping – October 16, 2010
Are you using Apple’s iTunes’ Ping? – September 27, 2010
Apple’s iTunes update improves poor Ping, but social network still needs lots of help – September 25, 2010
Apple removes Ping spam, improves interface – September 07, 2010
Facebook working with Apple to resolve iTunes Ping integration issue – September 03, 2010
Apple iTunes Ping users top one million in under 48 hours – September 03, 2010
Spammers and scammers begin showing up on Apple’s new iTunes Ping service – September 03, 2010
Apple releases iTunes 10 with Ping social music discovery; available to 160 million iTunes users – September 01, 2010
Thanks Zuck
Ping coulda been a contender. It coulda been something, instead of a bum, which is what it is, let’s face it.
The thing is, it’s inherent in many of us to share: share our likes, dislikes, opinions, tastes and time. That’s social. Ping could have been there, more than how Amazon is with their vast and useful (tremendously resourceful and influential too) database of consumer comments on myriad of products.
With Ping, for instance, some of us could have shared how Pink Floyd without Waters is just, watered down version. Roger on the other hand, had Pros & Cons of Hitchhiking under his built and the amazing Amused to Death. But who would want to use their real names and reputations (in professional capacity even) to voice those strong comments. But people are compelled to comment mostly when they feel strongly about something. That’s where Apple and Ping failed to realise, people need anonymity. A database of 400 million credit cards can also be a hindrance if you don’t know how to play or lack the social nous.
The end.
When Apple creates something of excremental quality they should be called on it as MDN has done here. Fortunately Ping will be dinged and now if they can only correct their HUGE Mac Pro miscalculation we’ll be good, for now. (All you boneheads who don’t need a Mac Pro can STFU and stop whining about how you don’t need one and Apple shouldn’t have to support pro users can suck donkeys.) We expect more from our favorite fruit company to do the right thing.
I don’t care if you like my music, clothes, products, haircut or any of this other social network nonsense.
Here! Here!
No, I mean
Hear! Hear!
And yet, you felt compelled to comment and share with others on how you don’t care for “social network nonsense.” Calmly if you can, think on that for a moment.
He probably doesn’t care that you cared enough to comment. 🙂
It would have worked in the 60’s music culture. Today it is all about marketing and using Ping to shamelessly promote, not socialize.
just integrate last.fm already
The worst thing they’ve done in years. Hope they learned something from their social networking experiment, though.
The name “Ping” was Microsoft-worthy.
Ping was compulsory social networking, couldn’t anybody at Apple see that? To do what you previously did, you now had to join up.
After Ping was forced upon us, I never rated anything at iTunes, never wrote a review.
Good riddance.
Ping was as good as MobileMe.
Ping was not that bad. It was killed by two facts:
Only accessible with iTunes which is bloated. Too many functions in one heavy system. As a HTML 5 website it may have been a success. At least with a apeedy app for iPad and iPhone.
It was a Robinson island. Not connected with Twitter, Facebook, MySpace (what was still a big network when Ping started). I guessed a network is connected in some way.
So it never was a social network but a sales tool what tried to hide this fact. Nobody likes this as Apple customers are no stupid idiots.
So sad that Apple never paid attention to develop Ping after it started and never changed the direction. A Redmond way in Cupertino.
But our favorite little company only has limited resources and not enough money so they can’t afford to hire some people to take care for this matter.
Just integrate Last FM. It’s awesome!
http://www.last.fm/user/TheConfuzed1