Social networking is all the rage with web and mobile usage catching business’s eye with the Web 3.0.

Sony launched their cloud-based content service, Qriocity, recently. With their product range and reach, they should get some traction for their downloads.

IBM is set to, according to Jeffrey Schick, IBM’s VP of Social Software, “better connect people with people and people with information.” They’ve had their own internal global networking for 15 years and they plan on giving the business world access to this type of software in the cloud.

And, of course the world has gone wild with Apple’s Ping. Again that’ll get traction, but the blogosphere is arguing over whether they’ll rival Facebook or not. They wont. Nothing will. Facebook is like coffee: it appeals to pretty much everybody.

No one will surpass Facebook’s numbers for take up. There are plenty of other social networks, and there’ll be loads more to come but none will hold a candle to FB. It’s been the Ford [motors] of the web, a revolution and game changer that might fade over time but whose originality and scale can’t be emulated.

What they will do is be ‘more’ social. More specific, more like-minded, less scattergun. A contact will be more of a contact rather than a random insignificant ‘friend.’

And the killer difference with the less is more approach of Apple is that they’ve got consumers, not users (credit cards linked to iTunes!). Jobs isn’t interested in getting everyone’s granny onboard for free, he’ll leave that to Facebook.

I know it’s living within iTunes but it’s just a shame Ping’s URL has gone on that pesky social networking updating site (ping.fm) and the golf firm (ping.com).