Independent Thinking Blog

The Problem with Peeple

I wasn’t going to write about Peeple.

But the app just won’t go away.

Peeple doesn’t exist. Yet.

And maybe it will end up being a big joke on the Internet. But the initial concept was dumb — and  a tad terrifying.

The Washington Post got the scoop on Peeple with a story entitled Everyone You Know Will Be Able to Rate You on the Terrifying ‘Yelp for People’ — Whether You Want Them To or Not. Because, you know, we really, really, really need a way to “rate” our friends, frenemies, colleagues, and almost-strangers.

The app is supposed to launch soon.

People are not amused.

As you can imagine, the Internet went snarky. And mad. And mean.

Then the founders pulled the plug on their social media accounts. It turns out they don’t like criticism. (Apparently, they don’t much like to be rated.) And now it looks like Peeple’s founders are pivoting to an app that will only let you say nice things about people.

In other words, it’s going the way of the dodo.

There’s a difference between Peeple and people.

Jimmy Fallon had a terrific segment on his show last year in which he asked New Yorkers to share their feelings about Robinson Cano. He’s a second baseman who spurned the Yankees to sign a mega-deal with another team. Fans were not happy. (Click here if you can’t see the video).

They scream. They rail. They call him a bum. It’s a presumptive Peeple moment.


Then Cano steps out from behind the cardboard cutout.

Photo by emilydickinsonridesabmx (Flickr).

You May Also Like

The Case for Digital Reciprocity

The Case for Digital Reciprocity

There’s a case for digital reciprocity, but don’t get so wrapped up in who’s sharing what to forget why you’re creating and curating content in the first place.

read more