Well first of all I think it's a straw man to imply that anyone would want to send emails or share to Facebook out a ping utility. That's sort of a big thing that makes utilities different than applications.

Edit: I deleted a couple sentences and realize now this might not convey exactly what I meant. Utilities are easy to call "done," applications are not. Applications interact with external forces who do change constantly (other software, business processes, law and regulation, etc). I think in general, updating applications is a necessary thing, bordering on good, regardless of circumstances.