I'll be the first to admit that the first generation Zune was not my favorite digital player... I have two of the Zune30 models and they serve their purposes in my car or on long plane rides, for example... but for everyday out and about use, I much prefer my new smaller, touch pad controlled, shiny red Zune8. Oh and did I mention wireless syncing?? NIIIICE.

Anyway, Cesar Menendez (my favorite Zune Rocker) has shown me how the Zune team has taken music back to its pre-digital roots when people used to gather at record stores and tell each other about the latest and best ways to rock out--or mellow out, depending on your style. It's called the Zune Social and it really is an interesting concept that leverages the back end from the XBox Live infrastructure and allows you to create a profile that displays your songs played, favorites, and friends. From there you can find out what others are listening to, get a taste of it, and share it with others... very cool stuff.

My favorite part is when Cesar sent me a recommendation for a band he likes... it came as a message to my Zune Social section in which I ended up purchasing the album all within 30 seconds.

And to top off the Zune Social with a nice cherry: you can now add it to your FaceBook or MySpace profiles. Cesar shows you how, so check it out and let us know what you think!