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September 1, 2010: Apples new music-focused social network, Ping, ships as part of iTunes 10.Apple says the service will let users discover new music and more easily follow their favorite artists.

Apple previously dabbled in social networking (it was the first significant tech company to advertise on Facebook). But Ping was Apples first attempt at actually launching its own social network.

Aside from following artists, the service let users post thoughts and opinions. Anyone could share details about favorite albums and songs. Plus, they could view concert listings and tell friends about upcoming shows they planned to attend.

iTunes is the number one music community in the world, with over 160 million iTunes users in 23 countries, and now were adding social networking with Ping, Steve Jobs said. With Ping you can follow your favorite artists and friends and join a worldwide conversation with musics most passionate fans.

In some ways, Apple seemed to be perfectly poised to launch a music-focused social network. It had a cool, youthful image, along with brand-loyal customers, wide reach, good standing in the music community and thanks to its success with iTunes and the iPod a history of delivering music-related tech in a way that other companies failed to do.

Early on, Apple experienced significant success with Ping. However, things went downhill after Apple crowed about the 1 million users who signed up in the first 48 hours. Ping lacked Facebook integration due to a (never entirely explained) breakdown in negotiations between the two companies.

Ping wasnt Apple design at its best. It was too fiddly to use, and felt less like a true social network than an attempt to sell music by adding a veneer of interaction on top of the iTunes Music Store.

Ultimately, it became another failed attempt by Apple to enter the internet services space (following its failed MobileMe experiment).

The writing was on the wall for Ping from early 2012, when Tim Cook discussed the services lack of traction at the All Things Digital conference. We tried Ping and the customer voted and said, This isnt something I want to put a lot of energy into,' he said. Some customers love it, but theres not a huge number that do, so will we kill it? I dont know. Ill look at it.

He also noted that Apple didnt need to have a social network. Apple shut down Ping on September 30, 2012.

Today, Apple encourages users to follow their favorite artists on Apple Music. However, much like Ping, these features dont seem to have gained much traction.

Instead, Apple is dabbling in original video content to push Apple Music subscriptions. Efforts range from music documentaries to shows such as Carpool Karaoke: The Series.

Do you remember Ping? Leave your comments below.

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Today in Apple history: Ping social network fails to strike a chord - Cult of Mac