Apple iTunes 10 Ping Social Network was rolled out yesterday, and to a broad chorus of "Meh." There are a number of problems right out of the gate that are to due to poor product concept and execution.
The first problem is the name itself: a direct rip-off of Seesmic's Ping.fm social network aggregation system.
That leads to another problem of search identity: a Google Search reveals Seesmic's Ping.fm just two spots over Apple's Ping, and because of the similarities, including the mention of social networking, the the fact that for Seesmic "ping" is a URL destination, Apple's Ping may never over take Seemic's Ping.fm.
That leads to a third issue, that Ping.com Golf drivers are helped by Apple's Ping error.
So, right out of the box, Apple robs itself of the maximum number of users with this online noise and confusion. But that's just the start of a list of issues.
As pointed out on Tech Blogger Robert Scoble's Twitter page @Scobleizer and by a number of friends and followers, Apple's Ping not only lacks integration with Facebook, but finding noted artists, like The Black Eyed Peas, is an improbability. Witness this tweet:
The Who." Fail. "Beatles." Fail. "Elton John." Fail. Just what kind of musician IS in Apple's iTunes Ping? @myspace wins. about 5 hours ago via web
Indeed, Apple's Ping's compared to MySpace, which is still a very relevant social network for the introduction of music artists, and comes up looking very bad. Apple's Ping fail may be the instrument for the rival of MySpace.com Here's another tweet of evidence:
Search on @myspace for "Black Eyed Peas" works. On Apple Ping? Nope. And they were even in an iPod commercial! about 6 hours ago via web
Apple's Slipping
Whatever's going on over at Apple, it can't seem to stop tripping over itself of late. If it's not the name of the iPad being offensive to women, or the iPhone's antenna issue, or the decision to even name it's new music based social network Ping, and all of its other problems, Apple doesn't seem to be thinking it's product actions through to their logical conclusions.
At the very least, and in a crowded environment of social networks, Apple had many examples to follow. In Apple's Ping, the firm doesn't seem to have learned anything from them, or followed logic.
If Facebook connectivity is expected, don't avoid giving it just because, "talks fizzled." If Facebook was being difficult, it would have been better to broadcast that issue and use it as leverage, either for Facebook to cooperate, or to construct a workaround alternative.
Instead, it looks like Apple just said, "Screw what we don't have. Just release it anyway."
Stay tuned.
Well put. Felt like certain media channels have been trying to create a lot of excitement about this product launch, but upon closer inspection it seems puzzling.
ReplyDeletePing is a great example of Apple's inability to understand where the web is headed.
ReplyDelete(1) Ping's suggestions for my three categories of favorite music were so far off the wall that I decided to enter specific artists to follow.
ReplyDelete(2) However, like posters above, I too was unable to "follow" any artists because Ping failed to find ANY, and I tried at least half a dozen, including big names like Eric Clapton. I thought maybe it was because I was using a G4 iMac, and Apple doesn't bother to test for that version of its software anymore, but it appears that Apple doesn't do much testing on ANY version of its software...
(3) Another thing I noticed before I turned Ping off was that there was no category for Folk Music, so where do Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, Peter, Paul and Mary et al go?
Having been a loyal Apple customer since I bought my first Mac in 1984, I am very disappointed at yet another instance of incompetence and/or indifference in the area of software quality. (I spent a LONG time fighting to get MobilleMe usable.) I understand that Apple needs to take risks with new products sometime, and some will fail, but that is different from having poorly designed and implemented software.
why would my favorite artists want so much exposure to internet stalkers? remind me again?
ReplyDeletetho i must admit, it has been cool if not interesting to find out what music my fav artists are listening to and what they are doing in general..