Does anyone know how to enable the genius sidebar, as it has completely disappeared after the update and replaced by the Ping sidebar, which I don't find any use for?
Removing the genius sidebar recommendations was a very bad idea. I referred to it all the time. The Ping sidebar is lame. Bring back the recommendations!!!!
Hello Apple Guys!
Look, I create this account in this "Apple Discussions" just to suggest, strongly suggest, that you return us, users, the option of the genius sidebar. Its definitely better than Ping, its just useful and enough for the main purpose, MUSIC, Ping will not succeed!! Please!! Return the Genius Sidebar!!
While I somehow doubt Apple will do anything that it hasn't already planned to do, regardless of our sentiments, I did provide them with customer feedback concerning my thoughts on the removal of the Genius Toolbar, using their Customer Support page. I
highly suggests that everyone who reviews this thread do the same:
This was my feedback, feel free to slice and dice it as your own:
Dear Apple,
I would like to join the throngs to request the reinstatement of the Genius Sidebar. PING, while I'm sure used by some, holds no interest to me. I've actually tried to use it and, well, found it useless. Of the first three artists I "PINGed", if you will, one did not have any posts, one didn't even have a profile, and the last one had a few posts, but nothing in the way of suggestions for new or similar music.
On the other hand, the Genius Sidebar was a quick, easy way for me to find similar songs and purchase them at a click. I've bought a number of songs that way, and it's opened me up to some bands I had never heard of but fell in love with, which in turn ended up with me purchasing entire ALBUMS. Now lets be conservative (very conservative) and throw some numbers at this. Suppose that each week, 1000 users bought an album that they had in some way learned of through the Genius Sidebar. Assuming each album is $10.00 or less (again, conservative), you're looking at roughly half a million or so in purchases.
For comparisons sake, I haven't made a single purchase that was in any way influenced by PING.
I'm not alone.
You are aware that Facebook exists right? And that it provides the exact same service you are trying to provide, except with an existing thriving user base that would in effect have to carbon copy their efforts to exist in both places? Have any of the artists you've signed up actually agreed to promote exclusively on PING, as opposed to the multitude of similar services out there?
In any case, as a very, very infrequent user of social media, I'm not interested in saying "sup" to musicians through the obscurity of the web, nor am I interested in the fact that pretty much the only content that the artists post is (understandably) shameless self-promotion.
While some of the artists do have reviews and the like posted, most do not, and I would imagine the more obscure your music taste, the less likely it is that your artist will have a presence on PING.
While I can understand that there are likely gads of people who are PINGing their way into bliss right now, I can also say that after reading scores of posts, including a couple hundred on YOUR forum, I didn't come across a single person who was in favor of doing away with the Genius Sidebar for PING.
Now I admit, I don't know the percentages, but I do know that for every person that posts feedback, marketing people generally can assume there are many out there who hold the same point of view and don't submit their thoughts. Please, please, pleeeeeeeease, consider putting the Genius Sidebar (or something similar) back in, or at least issue a statement with your reasoning for removing it so that we don't all feel like it was some snake-like move to try and force us to use PING...
As for the fate of PING, I honestly couldn't care less.
Bring back the Genius sidebar!! I have no use for this PING nonsense, just the same as Facebook and I already have a Facebook account. I don't need another thing to worry about! Just bring back the sidebar so I can start purchasing music that I like again!
Apple please bring back the Genius Sidebar! It was the best way to discover new songs!!! I refuse to purchase anything from the iTunes Store until this is done. At least give us the option of using it.
Apple - what were you thinking? C'mon, seriously! I used the sidebar all the time to find new music just like other music I already had and liked. Now what am I supposed to do? Spend countless hours previewing random music to no end with limited success? I think not. Please bring back the genius side bar because I will not be using Ping... ever.
The feature I loved about the genius sidebar is that I could search for music based on very specific sounds or songs: "I want something similar to xx's intro song" and genius could help me find it. I'm not sure what kind of web 2.0 type of strategy apple is trying to achieve with ping but its definitely not ever going to be my thing. I used to buy a TON of music through the genius sidebar too.
Yes, I've already done that - but it's certainly naiive to think that no-one from Apple ever reads these forums, even if it is designed to be user-to-user.
