Apple had planned on letting Ping users sift through their Facebook friends to find new followers and highlighted the feature when it first showed off Ping earlier this year. When Ping officially rolled out, however, Facebook integration was conspicuously missing.
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg
According to TechCrunch, Mr. Zuckerberg said the reason Ping and Facebook aren’t linked together is because his company invests millions of dollars in its system for accessing social data, and he expects to get a little something back from partners for its efforts.
“We want to have an understanding that you won’t just import our data — and that you try to contribute back,” he said. “We’re working through that.”
Presumably that means if Apple and Facebook can reach an agreement on what type of information Ping users will share with Facebook, the two companies will eventually reach a deal.
Apple isn’t relying just on Facebook for growing Ping. The Mac, iPod and iPad maker recently struck a deal with Twitter that lets users scan through their Twitter friends for potential new Ping contacts, and can also post Ping song and album likes to user’s Twitter streams.
Mr. Zuckerberg didn’t offer any hints to indicate how his negotiations with Apple are proceeding.