View Hannah Alley's profile'Peeple': Is It App-propriate?
04:20By Hannah Alley
Founded in
2014 by Nicole McCullough and CEO Julia Cordray, the unreleased app Peeple faced widespread criticism when
the company's outrageous plans for the app were announced in September 2015.
For anyone who doesn't know about it, Peeple
is an app that allows you to literally rate people from 1 to 5. Not only can
you rate colleagues, exes and friends like restaurants, but you could write an
unflattering paragraph about them if you wished, and they wouldn't be able to
do a single thing about it. Controversial? I think so.
"Peeple will enhance your online
reputation for access to better quality networks, top job opportunities, and
promote more informed decision making about people," said the company. Co-founders
Julia and Nicole describe the app as “positivity app for positive people”. But did the
developers really think this one through?
As soon as
the potential app hit Twitter and Facebook there was instant uproar. Campaigns
against the controversial app launched, one account on Twitter being '@WeHatePeeple' as it condemned the developers'
plans. A petition on Change.org was also launched to stop the release of the
app and it reached an outstanding 8,138 supporters. Co-founders Julia
and Nicole even received death threats on a daily basis.
Can I say I
blame internet-users for being so angry? Not really. With more than 1 in 3
young people having had experienced cyber-bullying online at some point in
their lives, it seems that Peeple is
just another way for humans to be ridiculed on the internet. You may be allowed
to respond to the negative review of yourself if you are signed up as a user of
Peeple, however it doesn't mean the
review would be deleted. Even worse, this is an awful way for interviewers to
research your name and discover something your ex wrote about you in an angry,
drunken rant.
The good
news? The co-founders of Peeple
seemed to have back-tracked since the national outrage and the app that was
supposed to hit stores in October is now less controversial than previously
announced: "You will NOT be on our platform without your explicit
permission. There is no 48-hour waiting period to remove negative comments.
There is no way to even make negative comments. Simply stated, if you don’t
explicitly say ‘approve recommendation’, it will not be visible on our
platform.”
Although the developers have now altered the app's features, part of me
does wonder if this app will still be problematic. Nicole and Julia preach that
the app promotes positivity, but it crosses my mind if now being able to
approve of a review makes things any better. Would receiving the review
"she's not gr8 at her job, advised not to hire for marketing" in your
inbox, but asked if you'd like to approve of it, make you feel any better about
the comment that's actually been made?
Either way, the company state
that the app isn't evil, and that you'd better be ready because it's coming
soon whether you like it or not.
0 comments