14 DAY TRIAL // Discussing social networking with the hosts of this year’s All Things D conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook said his company might eventually phase out Ping, the music-centric social networking platform introduced by the Cupertino giant in 2010.
Regarded as a flop two years into its existence, iTunes Ping, also known simply as Ping, is a software-based, music-oriented social networking platform developed and operated by Apple. It’s also a recommender, though few people are taking its word for it.
Apple does have a social network embedded in iOS, and soon in OS X Mountain Lion – Twitter. Things would have been different, hadn’t Apple and Facebook clashed during discussions two years ago when the former tried to get the latter aboard.
After failed discussions, Apple eventually rolled out Ping and adopted Twitter in iOS. Things have been good since, but they can be better, according to the company’s CEO speaking to journalists Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg at D10:
“Apple doesn’t have to own a social network, but does Apple have to be social? Yes…You’ll see us integrate Twitter into the Mac OS as we introduce Mountain Lion. Game Center and iMessage could be thought of as social… 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… Will we kill it? I don’t know. We’ll look at that.”
When Tim Cook was asked about their ongoing relationship with Facebook, he replied with a Jobsian “stay tuned,” suggesting the two companies are actively discussing a partnership, or perhaps even a signed deal that would be made public at WWDC 2012.
It’s not a question of whether Apple customers want Facebook integration in their iPhones and Macs, but rather a question of both companies eventually making a profit following this ordeal.