Adding Social to Everything

Google and Apple have both implemented social networking into their marketing leading apps –  iTunes and Gmail – instantly reaching an enormous user base. On the surface, this seems like a great idea. The users are already signed in, and this provides them the ability to connect with friends through a platform with which they are already comfortable.

Yet, the adoption rate of these new social features is relatively small. Apple Ping is very new, so it could be argued that people are not necessarily aware of it yet. Google Buzz, on the other hand, seems to have a limited community base even after a year since its launch. Will these apps succeed in making our live more social?

Why Social Networking?

Let’s start with why these companies are launching social networks? According to the king of social networking, Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook,  the reason is obvious. “… the basic thing that we’ve found from building social apps, and this platform ourselves, is that almost any experience or app can be better if it’s social and it has your friends with you.”

Are Apple and Google making the experience better for users by adding our friends to it? Let’s look at their solutions, and see if they live up to Zuckerberg’s statement.

Apple Ping

Apple Ping is easy to access through a new tab on iTunes. When I started to complete my profile, I was initially somewhat turned off because I could only choose three types of music. I felt like Apple was really trying to conduct market research as opposed to allowing me to create a profile that showcases my music preferences. Once I began to “like” a few songs in my music library and “follow” a few people though, related content starts showing up in the right sidebar.

There is definitely a cool feeling about Apple Ping. The thing that works for iTunes is that with the success of the iPod and iPhone, iTunes has become the defacto music player across all OS platforms. I don’t know anyone that doesn’t use it on either their Mac or PC. If you don’t, please comment.

Further, if Apple’s history with products is any example (such as the first generation iPod), this must be just the tip of an iceberg which will soon show it’s mass. I’m guessing that Apple Ping will be tightly integrated into mobile devices to allow people to be more social with music in a way that has never been fully realized.

Any Buzz About Google?

Google Buzz, on the other hand, has already been in existence for nearly a year. I haven’t used it often, but I did sign up when it first came out. Posts from my friends have appeared about once every two to three months, not quite the minute-by-minute updates seen on either Facebook or Twitter.

Google may face a tougher road than Apple because the form and function of Google Buzz is very similar to Facebook, allowing people to post comments, photos, status updates, etc. Buzz tries to make it easy by integrating with Flickr, Picasa, Twitter and others to automate social networking with the simplicity for which Google is known.

Unfortunately, similar to Google’s release of GoogleWave, which was widely hailed to be the “email killer” that would change how everyone communicated, Buzz may suffer the same issue of getting people to use it. Although it has some great features, it won’t work if not enough people adopt it. Will users really want to carry a conversation with only a few of their friends, or will they just return to using Facebook, where the community is more active?

Is Ping and Buzz Making Everything Social?

Do Ping and Buzz meet the Zuckerberg litmus test – “adding friends to any app makes it better?” To an extent, both social networks do. Music is a shared experience, so integrating friends directly into iTunes through Apples Ping has a high likelihood of becoming a major influence in the future. With all the content Apple has to relate to users, and as more people join Ping, it will be much easier to explore new music and videos in a way that was never before possible. Although email continues to be a primary “go-to” app for many, this is changing for different generations and how they communicate with others. Maybe Google will be able to simplify our social lives through advanced integration.

Both Apple Ping and Google Buzz face one hurdle that will be difficult to overcome – engaging new users and convincing them to bring their friends. How quickly will people jump on board? I feel both networks will continue to grow, albeit slowly. But the one great thing the Internet has proven time and again is that if you provide a niche platform, it may not initially blow up to worldwide proportions, but select groups will find it useful and create enough buzz for people to ping their friends about to make everything social.