Apple just released the first iTunes 10 update since it was released into the wild. In case you already forgot, iTunes 10 was a big change from previous iTunes versions, mainly because Apple used it to introduce its social music service: Ping. So, it’s not really surprising that the first update to iTunes 10 has some nice features which are Ping-specific. More importantly, iTunes 10.0.1 now works with your own music library.

At their September media event, Apple unveiled Ping, their social network for iTunes users to share and discuss music. Are you not one of the one million Ping users Apple set up in the first 48 hours? If so, I’m guessing it’s because you just don’t see the point. Fair enough. But if it’s simply because you don’t know what to do and where to do it, this how-to will have you Pinging faster than Project ARTEMIS.

With the release of Game Center in iOS 4.1 and Ping in iTunes 10, there’s no doubt that Apple is starting its foray into social networking. Sure, Apple has included Facebook and Twitter integration in a limited way in iTunes before, but now the company is actually creating social networks of their own. However, they won’t be able to ride on the backs of the millions of iTunes users for long; they’re going to need to give us a reason to stay.

Did we expect anything less than this from Apple? On Friday, Apple issued a press release to brag share the news that in the first 48 hours of iTunes 10 being available, one million users had signed up to use the new music-oriented social network, Ping. According to the press release, around three million people had downloaded iTunes 10, one third of whom decided to sign up to the social network to share their musical tastes.

At today’s media event, Apple announced iTunes, featuring the Ping social music network. Like FaceBook, Ping allows you to post and share your musical preferences (audio and video) with either a circle of friends or with anyone who cares to follow you. You can share this information on your Mac, iPhone or iPod touch via app. In addition, the interface has been cleaned up even further.

Ping! is an iDevice to iDevice messaging application (similar to BlackBerry Messenger on Blackberry smartphones) that makes use of Apple’s Push Notification service, and is said to be a replacement for SMS or other IM clients. Ping! uses data from a 3G/EDGE or WiFi connection rather than SMS messages, and therefore can potentially save users a lot of money.