What’s Wrong With iTunes That iLike Fixes?

Listening to an iPod is not a social experience. It’s private. That’s what those pearl white ear buds are for. Where’s the sharing experience?

If music was meant to be shared, whither art thou social networking experience, oh iTunes?

Will Apple buy iLike and give us a wireless iPod?

I know what you’re saying. “Back up, Carol.” Music is private and social, right? iPod makes it private for each of us.

iTunes, Mac or Windows, can make your music more social by bringing you, your music, and your friends together with iLike.

iLike integrates with iTunes, Mac or Windows, and gives us the social networking our parents never had. Except at sock hops.

Basically, iLike is a sidebar application for iTunes that studies your listening habits, determines your music tastes (or lack of).

iLike also shows you what your friends are listening to, and sets up a web site for you and others. Login and share.

It’s social networking without the need to show off new pimples, unshaven body areas, or makeupless bad hairdays.

There’s details to getting started, but nothing worthy of extra thought.

Download iLike from the iLike site, install, watch.

iTunes displays a vertical panel on the right side. It looks like it belongs there.

Much as Coverflow looks like it was made for iTunes.

iLike reads your music, checks your habits (the musical habits, not the religious habits, or those that would get you time in the slammer), and goes to work.

There’s four basic iLike tabs: Friends, Related, Playlists, and your Profile.  iLike figures out what’s related, checks your playlist, stores your profile info, but won’t get friends for you.

iLike will help you find friends online as you can use iLike to find others who have similar tastes. Maybe that’s easy, maybe not.

If social networking is something that’s wrong with the whole iTunes, iPod experience, does that mean that Microsoft’s Zune might be on to something?

For iTunes 7, Apple bought Coverflow and the folks who made it. It’s cooler than the Microsoft version. Will Apple buy iLike?

Maybe the real question is, “Does iTunes need iLike or something like it to enhance social networking experiences with iTunes and iPod?”

That’s a good question. What’s your answer? I think we’ll see more social networking built in to the iTunes iPod duo.

Then, Microsoft will sit back and say, “I told you so.”

Remarkably, the gentleman who knows and loves his Macs, Walt Mossberg, has a thing for iLike, too.