Apple announced its entry into social networking on Wednesday with Ping, a new service that brings social media features to its iTunes music service.
Integrated into Apple’s iTunes software, Ping will allow users to follow friends, see what music they have bought, ‘liked’ or reviewed, and view which concerts they plan to attend.
Drawing on both Facebook and Twitter, Ping will also allow users to ‘follow’ their favourite artists and post comments in a stream.
While other social networks have struggled to compete with Facebook, Apple has a better chance than most with an established iTunes user base of 160 million. This is no guarantee, however. Gmail had a larger user base when Buzz was introduced and it is largely considered to have floundered in the face of Twitter and Facebook.
Unlike other social networks, Ping has a strong focus on e-commerce, allowing users to buy songs based on a single mention by a friend. The service will give users additional reasons to buy more frequently.
Analysts are also predicting that Ping will sound the death knell for MySpace, which has increasingly focused on music in recent years.
It remains to be seen how Apple will integrate its iAds into Ping, but with a new iPod Touch also just announced, Ping could be a major revenue driver for Apple’s online marketing platform.
