iTunes Ping, also known simply as just “Ping” is a social network created by Apple, that has been integrated into the largely popular music software developed by Apple, iTunes. iTunes is one of the most widely used music collection software in the world, as the explosion in popularity of iPods and iPhones helped make digital music more accessible. The social network Ping was announced by Apple on September 1st, 2010, which is the same day where Apple released new iPods, new Apple TV, and a new version of iTunes, iTunes 10.0. iTunes 10.0 comes with a redesign, and new look and features, with the biggest feature change being the Ping social network aspect of the iTunes software package. As of September 2010, the network launched with 160 million members, in over 23 countries.
The main purpose of the social networking aspect of iTunes is to allow users to follow artists, as well as see short, up to date postings by their friends, which they approve or allow. This aspect of it, is fairly similar to a Facebook or a Twitter account, but keeps all of your music information within a software program that most people already use fairly often, and some people even use daily. What is also so great about Ping, is that similar to Facebook and Twitter, Ping is accessible on the go, with Ping being available in iTunes for both iPod Touches, and iPhones. In fact, when Ping was released on September 1st, Steve Jobs even referenced Facebook and Twitter, stating “sort of like Facebook and Twitter meet iTunes”. Steve Jobs also went on to say that Ping is also different than them, saying that Ping is all about music.
There have however been some problems with Ping, despite it being a software program that sounds very fun and exciting. Within 24 hours of Ping being introduced, it has been reported that Ping has been flooded with spam and fake iTunes accounts. The fake accounts were primarily being made for musicians, which make it easy for people to spam. This is also typically a very common problem on Facebook and Twitter as well, where people make fake accounts for celebrities, and then proceeds to spam people who follow them. Spamming occurred with people posting comments with links to promising free iPods, iPads, iPhones and more, simply for filling out a survey. These comments were posted on very popular artist’s pages, especially artists that were featured on Ping’s recommendations on the homepage. There have been complains that Apple has not done enough to stop spamming, but Apple has been cracking down, and disabling accounts, comments, and more.
Despite this, the software overall has gotten good reviews, and has gotten positive comments from many large newspapers and online reviewers, saying that the service is useful, and that it could easily be used fairly often. Overall, I like the service, and look forward to exploring it more.
Source:-http://www.helium.com/items/1943401-itunes-ping-apples-social-network-review
