Apple Lands 1 Million Ping Users Within 48 Hours

One of the less hardware-related announcements Apple made last week was iTunes 10. It's the double-digit beginning for a piece of software that has been a staple of iLife for years, but something beyond that it making news now. A tiny piece of iTunes 10 has emerged first on this new version: "Ping." What exactly Ping is has remaining up for discussion. It's sort of a fusion between Twitter and MySpace, but it's directly integrated into iTunes 10. It can help you find other music you may like, and it can show off what you do like to friends around the world.

Many may have assumed that Apple's first real push into social networking was little more than an afterthought. But it's pretty clear now that Apple plans on taking this foray seriously, and there's no telling when all it could lead to. Just two days after Ping launched, Apple saw fit to issue an official press release saying that one million users had joined its new service in under 48 hours. That actually is fairly impressive, particularly when you consider just how few OS X-based computers there are. Of course, iTunes is multi-platform, and we have to assume that anyone using an iOS-based device (even on Windows) will have access. Still, it's no easy feat to get people hooked on another social networking service these days.


So, will Apple use Ping as a springboard into other aspects of social networking? Time will tell, but this first shot sure seems to be going well…

Ping Users Top One Million in First 48 Hours

CUPERTINO, California—September 3, 2010—Apple® today announced that in less than 48 hours since its launch on Wednesday, more than one million users have joined Ping, its new social network for music which lets users follow their favorite artists and friends to discover what music they’re talking about, listening to and downloading.

“One-third of the people who have downloaded iTunes 10 have joined Ping,“ said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of Internet Services. “As many more people download iTunes 10 in the coming weeks, we expect the Ping community to continue growing.“

Ping lets you follow your favorite artists such as Lady Gaga, Coldplay, U2, Jack Johnson, Yo-Yo Ma and more, to see what they’re up to, check out photos and videos they’ve posted, see their tour dates and read comments about other artists and albums they’re listening to. In addition, you can post your thoughts and opinions, your favorite albums and songs, the music you’ve downloaded from iTunes® and the concerts you plan to attend.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork, and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple is reinventing the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.