A little while ago on this blog there was an article about Peeple (‘the Yelp for people’). Everyone was skeptical when the app was announced then, and now that the app has officially launched there is some feedback about the app - most of it bad.

In case you don’t remember the original introduction to Peeple, the app was (literally) a Yelp type app that allowed users to rate people. It really sounded like a bad idea back when the app was in development stages, and I’m not so sure it’s any better now that it has actually arrived - but here’s what people are saying about the Peeple app.

Peeple and What it Does

Peeple really is like Yelp for people. You can use the app to rate anyone that you meet. Whether you met that person professionally, personally, or romantically, you can rate them - and then let everyone else that uses the app know what you think of that person. If this sounds like an app that will generate a lot of anger (and possible some slander issues that could be a legal problem for some people), it is.

In order to rate people, you have to connect Peeple to your Facebook page and address book, so you can rate the people that you actually know. But, you can rate people you don’t know either. The really bad part about Peeple is that you can also rate people that do not use the app. So an entire hate club or fan club all about you could exist, but you’d never know unless you use the app.

The Controversy

Obviously, there are a lot of people that do not like this app. The app generate a ton of negative press, and now that the app has launched it’s not really doing any better. It’s hard to figure out why someone would use this app. It makes sense to rate companies, but people? Most people that will use the app will probably do so to vent about bad service or about past relationships - neither of which requires an entire app to do.

You also have to think of how this app reflects on you. If you decide to rate people, you might find that some of that negative news comes back to you. After all, the people that you talk badly about are mostly going to retaliate. So far, the app hasn’t generated that many users, but it did go viral for a little while. It’s hard to say whether or not the app will take off in a big way, but I’m betting that it doesn’t.

Where to Vent

If you want to use the Peeple app, you will have to find it on iOS for the time being. It’s relatively safe to say that the Peeple app will spread to Android soon, but that might not happen unless the app actually does take off. It will be very interesting to see whether or not this app takes off. Peeple is definitely a different and unusual idea, but it’s also for a different crowd.

If you want to complain about someone or have something to say about someone that might have done you wrong, Peeple might be for you. Otherwise, this app doesn’t seem to have a ton of place in the modern world - I mean, people can complain about others on Twitter, Facebook, and in a ton of other places. I’m not convinced that an app is completely necessary.