Monday’s WWDC Facebook announcement marked Apple’s full integration of the top two social networks in the world. The odd network left out (other than Google+) was Ping, Apple’s social network. Ping was launched in 2010 and was dubbed the social network for music but only ever saw mediocre usage. The service allowed users to follow artists & friends to see what they were playing and view their updates.
AllThingsD reported that Apple is going to retire Ping which won’t be included within iOS6. All of Apple’s new social elements will now rely on Facebook or Twitter. In the article a quote from Tim Cook, Apple CEO, stated the following at D10:
“We tried Ping, and I think the customer voted and said ‘This isn’t something that I want to put a lot of energy into””
While this move may anger some loyal Ping users, it appears to be the right move. The integration with Facebook is a big step for Apple and they now no longer need Ping. Instead of going the Google route and building social from the ground up, Apple is going to tie in and leverage social media from the most popular networks.
For more information see AllThingsD.
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