Yesterday, Mr Apple – Steve Jobs, showcased some of Apple’s newest products.

Was I interested in the next generation Apple TV?
Nope.
In the newest and coolest ever iPod Nano?
Neither.
For the thinnest iPod Touch to hit the market?
Not even close.

The newest version of iTunes?
Definitely!

But why would I be interested in a software upgrade? Especially given that you probably feel the same way as I do when you are asked to upgrade to the newest version – what will it change?

IT WILL CHANGE EVERYTHING – or nothing

It looks like Apple didn’t want to acquire the decaying MySpace to revive it, or invest to make Last.fm evolve, so they decided to create a new niche social network. Completely music-oriented, this new social network is expected to start big (according to Apple) with its 160 million users in 23 countries. In a Twitter meets Facebook approach, Ping will allow people to keep track of the music industry with everything from pictures and videos to tour dates and upcoming new songs/albums. “With Ping you can follow your favourite artists and friends and join a worldwide conversation with music’s most passionate fans” Steve jobs said. It will work on your Mac, PC, iPhone and iPod Touch. All you need is iOS 4.1. There was no mention of the iPad… I’m sure it’ll come.

Are you worried that it will change iTunes so much that you will have to relearn how to navigate it? Don’t – it only added a left-sided tab.

Are we ready for more social networks in our lives? Twitter has acquired popularity with a limited group of people (20% of their users generate more than 80% of the posts). Facebook keeps growing and evolving (recently launching its geo-targeted based application Places). The list goes on… the crumbling MySpace, the powerful YouTube, the location-based Foursquare and Gowalla, the not so popular Buzz, the new Digg and Orkut…

Isn’t that enough already? No, says Apple.

This comes at a time when almost all bands and artists have started to use/master the Facebook tool and fans are getting used to receiving news from their favourite artists/discovering which bands their friends like. Ping will offer just about the same tool. The only major difference is that it lists what you have recently listened to so you can find out the same about your friends. Oh and no one is using it – yet. Ok I haven’t tried it… but my favourite social media information provider Mashable did.

Is it good? You should read their article. There are pros and cons – mostly cons for now.

So…

Let’s say whatever Steve Jobs touches becomes gold.
Let’s say people will adopt a new social network dedicated to music.
Let’s say your boss will not ban iTunes from your work PC because it now has a social network embedded in it.
Let’s say there will be double rainbows once a week.

Then it will be a golden Apple…

Will Ping capture a chunk of the social media market? Is it the MySpace killer?
Will more niche social networks come about if this is successful?

Is this network an entry point for the iAd platform? Will it help to target users based on their behaviour and actions on top of their demographics acquired through their iTunes account?

These are things we need to keep an eye on.