Yesterday Apple introduced Ping in iTunes 10.  As Jobs described it, Ping is “a social network for music. It’s like Facebook and Twitter meet iTunes. It’s all about music.”  As Jobs explained, “Ping is for social music discovery. You can follow people and you can be followed. Most artists will hold their hand up and say ‘you can follow me’ — you can hold your hand up and say that as well, or you can say ‘people can follow me but I have to approve who follows me.’ Then you can set up a circle of friends.”

Discovery takes place at the intersection of information.  Some music discovery is already happening within iTunes but with the introduction of Ping, Apple has furthered the creation and velocity of information and thereby increased the probability that information will intersect. 

The introduction of Ping also increases discovery closer to the point of purchase.   

Important to Ping, it is available on the iPhone and iPod touch. I imagine demand for music is more inelastic on-the-go than it is within a fixed location like the home. Research has shown that for certain age cohorts, 45 percent of music is consumed on mobile devices.  Discovery happens with friends making mobile device integration meaningful.  Have you ever watched teens sit around and share music with others from their mobile devices?  

I also think concert integration has potential.  Eventually one can imagine users uploading video clips from concerts – furthering information dispersion.    

I disagree with assessments that Apple is gunning to create their own Facebook with Ping. The focus of Ping will remain narrowly around music.  But I do believe the scope of Ping will increase.  Moving into other content like movies and television programs is a natural extension.

Tonight I was a guest on Sirius NASCAR Radio ch.128/XM 128 after being quoted in this USA Today article on how technology is impacting sporting event attendance and ultimately the future of live sports viewing. Along this vein I wanted to offer some additional insights on how to create a meaningful live sporting event experience for attendees.

1. Sports fans and technology go hand-in-hand. Recent CEA research finds more than half (53%) of consumers who consider themselves high level sports fans also consider themselves early adopters of technology. This relationship has the potential to fundamentally impact sports viewing in the years to come. Those most interested in watching sports are also most technologically inclined. This suggests sports fan will only want greater integration of technology. Moreover, they will likely want to leverage the newest technologies. To take advantage of this trend teams should look at neutral offerings that allow fans to customize their experience with the newest technologies. For example, teams could offer web services that fans can access from a myriad of different devices.
2. Create a differentiated experience. The same research study referenced above finds sports fans prefer watching sports in HD over viewing the event live. More sports fans (48%) prefer to watch TV broadcast of live events in high-definition over attending the same event in person (10%). But this doesn’t have to be looked at in bad light. Sports leagues and teams can use this to their advantage in creating a meaningful live experience. As the USA Today article highlighted, “When the NFL kicks off the 2010 season next week, about 1 million fans will turn out to watch games in stadiums across the nation. And in their living rooms, an average of 16 million fans will gather to watch each of the 16 opening-weekend games in what has become the golden age for NFL consumption.” There will always be more fans engaged outside of the venue. Teams should look to create a differentiated experience as opposed to trying to compete with in-home viewing. Use technology to make the live experience better. This can include a myriad of services and offerings that are just now rolling out and some that aren’t widely available including ordering food, replays on-demand, or access to additional and exclusive video footage to name a few.
3. Technology enables personalization. Some will argue technology runs the risk of overwhelming the end-user. How can the attendee fully enjoy the live sporting event when they are overwhelmed by devices? The key to technology is that it is highly customizable. This ensures sports fans can bring in as much or as little technology as they want to enrich their experience.
4. Whatever the current limitations, technology will improve. Whatever the current limitations of technology it will improve. Processing power will prove, bandwidth will increase. Video will be a key equalizer and an important differentiator for in-stadium viewing on mobile devices and this experience will improve with technology. Don’t write-off possible services now simply because the infrastructure isn’t yet perfected.

I’m often asked why I only have “two opinions.”  In fact, for those who know me well, they will be quick to point out that I have dozens of opinions on a myriad of topics.

President Truman was credited with asking for a one-armed economist, an economist with only one opinion.  “I’m always looking for a one-armed economist [one who can’t say “On the other hand”] – Harry S. Truman.  

In this vein, I’ll write my two opinions (and many more).  Always looking at different sides of the issue – trying to ask why and why not.