Every night restaurants open their doors to hungry patrons who have chosen their establishment because it received an overall positive review on Yelp. To date, there are over 90 million Yelp reviews posted on the platform. Even in 2016, word of mouth remains the most effective marketing force. Because we live in a recommendation world, we place trust in sites such as Angie’s List and RateMyProfessor. What happens, however, when the product people are rating is you?
Peeple
On September 30th, 2015 co-founders McCullough and Cordray announced Peeple: A new app allowing users to rate the people they know and interact with on a daily basis. Ultimately, every last one of us would be reviewed personally, professionally and even romantically. The co-founders, who refer to themselves as “empathetic female entrepreneurs” who “want to spread love and positivity” had little idea of the backlash they were about to receive. (Sollosi, 2015)
Self marketing is not a new concept for many of us. We post, like, and make connections on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn everyday. Something about Peeple, however, is different and not in a good way. According to Entertainment Weekly, any Peeple user can produce a profile centered around you or me and there is nothing we can do about it. Without your consent, every girlfriend you ever cheated on is ready to write a scathing review as if you were a restaurant that messed up their order. (Sollosi, 2015)
After the app experienced a social media firestorm, it disappeared from public thought until the co-founders recently resurfaced with a new game plan. The potential for negative reviews has been reigned in and a user with a profile has the opportunity to review and delete negative comments before they are publically posted. If you do not have a profile someone may still create one for you, but only positive reviews will be published. I question if this policy change even makes a difference to the initial problem of personal invasion. (Shandrow, 2015)
Yes, this app does have its inherent problems, but are these advancements in app development inevitable? We rate and review many aspects of our lives, so wouldn’t the next logical step be each other? I would prefer those I’ve worked for, worked with, and broken up with not rate me like I am an Airbnb or an Uber ride on a five-star scale. From a marketing communication standpoint, transparency is important for success. How much is transparency worth if it jeopardizes your professional future? While the co-founders call Peeple a “safe place”, I question where ethics come into play. (Peeple, 2016)
References
Dewey, C. (2015, September 30). Everyone you know will be able to rate you on the
terrifying ‘Yelp for people’ – whether you want them to or not. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2015/09/30/everyone- you-know-will-be-able-to-rate-you-on-the-terrifying-yelp-for-people-whether-you- want-them- to-or-not/
Kulwin, N. (2015, October, 26). The People Behind Peeple, the Internet’s Most Hated App,
Aren’t Going Away. Retrieved from http://recode.net/2015/10/26/the-people- behind-peeple-the-internets-most-hated-app-arent-going-away/
Peeple: Character is Destiny. Retrieved from http://forthepeeple.com/
Shandrow, K. (2015, November 6). ‘Yelp For People’ Co-Founder: Your Hate Only Fuels My Resolve To Launch Peeple. Retrieved from http://entrepreneur.com/article/252542
Sollosi, M. (2015, September 30). ‘Yelp for people’ app will let you ‘rate’ real-life human
beings. Retrieved from http://www.ew.com/article/2015/09/30/peeple-app
White, A. (2015, October 1). These Women Claim They’ve Made An App That Lets You Rate Other People And The Internet Is Furious. Retrieved from http://www.buzzfeed.com/alanwhite/were-just-ordinary-peeeeeple-we-dont-know- which-way-to-go?utm_term=.haGzkMn14A#.haGzkMn14A
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