Facebook created the definitive social network. Google followed suit with Google+. Must Apple create its own version of a social network?

According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, the answer is no; it doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel. But that comes with a caveat: “Does Apple need to be social?” Cook asked rhetorically. “Yes.”

The idea, Cook said in conversation with Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher at D10, isn’t that Apple needs to own the network itself. It’s to take that social integration and use it to improve upon the company’s existing products.

“Things like this make our devices even more useful to people,” Cook said. Think of Twitter’s integration into iOS, and later, the Mac OS.

But what about Ping, the ill-fated, iTunes-based social network that has languished ever since its launch in 2010?

“We tried Ping, and I think the customer voted and said, ‘this isn’t something that I want to put a lot of energy into,’” Cook admitted (after trying unsuccessfully to avoid the question).
So does that mean Ping is dead? “I don’t know,” Cook said. “We’ll look at it.”

Anyone with an iPhone knows how cozy Apple and Twitter are; tweeting is integrated into iOS’s blood. Conspicuously absent from Apple’s iOS platform, however, is the other social network. You know, the one that just went public: Facebook.

So why isn’t Facebook more fully integrated into Apple’s software?

The idea isn’t off the table. Onstage at our D10 conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook said his company’s current relationship with Facebook is “very solid. I think we can do more with them,” Cook said.

At the very least, it sounds like the two companies are talking, though they seem to be taking time in finding a middle ground. Take Cook’s analogy on the issue, when asked specifically about Facebook integration:

“I think that two people that have strong points of view can appreciate each other even more,” he said. “Because you have a point of view doesn’t mean you can’t work with other people.”

So is it a war of wills in hammering out the details? Perhaps. But Cook recognizes the value of Facebook. “We want to provide customers simple solutions. And Facebook has millions — hundreds of millions — of customers.”

via AllthingsD