Ping Surpasses 1 Million Users in 48 Hours?

Apple has high hopes for its Ping. The network may not be perfect and is susceptible to spam attacks, but that has not stopped people from joining it. According to Apple, about one third of people who have downloaded iTunes have joined Ping as well.

One-third of the people who have downloaded iTunes 10 have joined Ping… As many more people download iTunes 10 in the coming weeks, we expect the Ping community to continue growing.

Considering that there are 160 million iTunes users around the globe, Ping could be a huge success for Apple. Apple and Google are preparing for their next battle, this time in the music industry. Ping gives Apple the opportunity to compete with Google on a more equal ground.

Ping still has ways to go before being considered a true social network. For starters, it is not very social. Apple is clearly trying to use this community to get people even more excited about buying songs from iTunes. Being able to connect with celebrities on Ping is nice but does not make Ping the next Facebook. At the very least, Apple should support Ping integration with other social networks.

For now, Ping is tied to iTunes, and that has allowed it to gain 1m users in 48 hours. Let’s hope Apple finds a way to go beyond iTunes and offer a real “social experience” with Ping.

Are you impressed with Ping?