Since I’m not a complete fanboy (yeah, right ;)) I’ll try and bash this idea a little bit. The main reason is simple – it’s a simplified, censored and completely market oriented version of last.fm which already has many users and is quite popular. Even though the service is a mix between social network and internet radio, it still has a lot more to offer than iTunes “Ping”.
And why we’re at it – “PING” ? What kind of a name is that? Ping is a command and it will always be associated with that command. Unless ping is for the sound it makes when it comes and goes.
The only cool thing about it is the iphone/ipad integration that’s far more seamless than last.fm’s app. But nevertheless this is not “reinventing the social media” in any way. It’s just a copy of last.fm and twitter/facebook to expand market share.
And I think it won’t last too long.