

Ask HN: Did Apple create Ping to eventually compete with Facebook? - curtisspope

Did Apple create Ping to eventually compete with Facebook?
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mikecane
I don't think so. Anyone can join Facebook. Ping requires an iTunes account.
Ping is more like trying to keep people sticking around so they'll buy more.
Apple is clearly leveraging the power of person-to-person recommendations over
algorithms. It will be interesting when Ping adds books.

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TeHCrAzY
I highly doubt they would jump into the water and try to compete with Amazon.
It's way to direct, I really don't see them being able to just brute force
their way in.

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danishkhan
I would say Apple is trying to compete more with last.fm and maybe even
myspace. A lot of musicians use myspace as their social networking to
communicate with their fans. I can easily see Ping being used for the same
purpose and being tied into iTunes will help out the musicians a lot.

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jschuur
Considering that it only features songs bought on iTunes and has a strong bias
towards artists right now (normal users can't do status updates as far as I
can tell), it created it to increase sales under the consumer benefit of music
discovery.

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chrisclark1729
I wouldn't say they're so much competing with myspace or last.fm as they're
poised to dominate a wide open space hobbled by those two companies poor
execution. Nonetheless, I effectively agree with danishkhan.

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rblion
Ping is probably centered on becoming the platform for culture/entertainment.
It will disrupt a lot of startups if and when it becomes web-based.

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willheim
Agree but it's a long way away from that. Imagine if Ping was built in to the
AppleTV as well, and additionally being able to be set automatically (like a
scrobble) so that you can have conversations going with others while
watching/listening/etc.

We've seen how Twitter peaks during major events (like the Olympics or during
major TV episodes). I can see Apple eventually wanting to be the source for
that info. Then again, they'd have to open it up a lot more and get it on
other systems. Ping for PC, Ping for Android (GoogleTV?), Ping plugins, and so
on. Which would all eventually lead to the iTunes store...

And what if they then struck marketing deals with a place like Amazon or
Zappos? Ping "I like her shoes" and it recognizes that with a "buy" button
linking to Zappos and the same shoes.

We've seen how Apple starts small and grows features much bigger than the
original intention. We've also see how Apple has transformed themselves from
Apple Computer Inc to just Apple (and all that that means).

While Ping certainly sucks now I believe they are committed... and they have a
plan.

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rblion
Very interesting thoughts...

I think Ping is a "Trojan horse" to enter the Web space without causing too
big of a scene. They are testing a few theories out in iTunes before dropping
the bomb in January with their next batch of products. Apple is historically
cunning and sly in this way. No one can fully guess their next batch of moves.

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checoivan
looks like Zune + Zpass+ Zune social to me. Now that all the zune stuff and
music subscriptions will ship with the phone,etc... Seems like competition
will be though and Apple would be behind if they didn't have a
subscription/recommendation/social offering.

