Peeple Is Basically a Digital Version of Regina George’s Burn Book
Peeple, a new app that is being promoted as “Yelp for humans,” lets individuals rate one another just like they’re restaurants, Ubers, Amazon products, or movies.
Here’s the gist: Users will be able to give one- to five-star ratings of people with reviews — bad or good. Even non-members can be added by an individual plugging in the phone number of the person they want to rate. That person will subsequently receive a text with a notification that the profile was created for them and “they should check out what you said about them on our app.” Positive ratings go live right away while negative ones are queued in a private inbox for 48 hours, giving time to raise disputes. For unregistered users who can’t raise issue with unfavorable assessments, profiles only reveal glowing feedback.
The app, which is currently in beta and only available for iPhone users, was created by Julia Cordray and Nicole McCullough with plans to launch widely in November. “People do so much research when they buy a car or make those kinds of decisions,” Cordray told the Washinton Post. “Why not do the same kind of research on other aspects of your life?”
The co-founders want Peeple to be seen as if “Facebook, LinkedIn, and Tinder had a baby,“ which is in part true. But it’s more like Regina George and high school mean girls with burn books graduated from college with marketing degrees and coding skills and decided to relive the high school glory days of being queen bee through technology.
It’s an interesting political climate to release a tool promoting appraisal of individuals. The Internet, while still a breeding ground for body shaming and passing judgment, has seemingly plateaued and also become a place to fight back, tolerance for unfavorable at an all time low. Just look to celebrities such as Selena Gomez, Gigi Hadid, and Lena Dunham who have called their detractors out. Not just on social media has this sea change been happening, in other mediums as well. Just look at the struggling Fashion Police for proof. Trash talking celebrities for game, pleasure, or laughs isn’t tolerated as it once was.
But despite at least seemingly good intentions (McCullough is a mother of two who wanted a space to help her decide whom to trust with her kids, such as neighbors and babysitters) the app has come under fire for being yet another place for bullying and slander to take place. “This is a real app. It needs not to be. #peeple,” Chrissy Teigen tweeted. “In an age where both truth and gossip on the Internet can literally ruin lives, this #peeple app is horrible AND scary #yelpforhumans???” Derat McKesson added that Peeple “is like the holy grail of trolling.” “Genuinely don’t understand how anyone who’s ever been on the internet could think #peeple is a good idea. Is it a parody? Is this art?,” Rachel Feltman questioned.
“How unsurprising that two blonde, young, attractive, educated white women believe that people are automatically genuinely good,” KC Crowell wrote on Facebook. “You two need to check your privilege and listen to the many people who are telling you earnestly and honestly that this app would be detrimental to their safety (even with the revisions you’re proposing). This is not an app we need. Ever.”
Cordray and McCullough have since gone on the defensive. In a note on their website, they wrote, “Innovators are often put down because people are scared and they don’t understand. We are bold innovators and sending big waves into motion and we will not apologize for that because we love you enough to give you this gift.” They also stress their “integrity features,” which include the requirement of having an established Facebook account, being 21, and reviews needing to be made under a real name. “As two empathetic, female entrepreneurs in the tech space, we want to spread love and positivity,” Cordray said. “We want to operate with thoughtfulness.”
Maybe the co-founders haven’t seen Mean Girls or Heathers, which have already foretold the app’s future: love and positivity only come after the ringleader gets hit by a bus or killed. Something so horrible has to happen before the happy ending.
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