I’m very amused by the widespread fear of this new app that will permit people to be rated being expressed:
You can already rate restaurants, hotels, movies, college classes, government agencies and bowel movements online.
So the most surprising thing about Peeple — basically Yelp, but for humans — may be the fact that no one has yet had the gall to launch something like it.
When the app does launch, probably in late November, you will be able to assign reviews and one- to five-star ratings to everyone you know: your exes, your co-workers, the old guy who lives next door. You can’t opt out — once someone puts your name in the Peeple system, it’s there unless you violate the site’s terms of service. And you can’t delete bad or biased reviews — that would defeat the whole purpose.
Imagine every interaction you’ve ever had suddenly open to the scrutiny of the Internet public.
Congratulations, world. Now everyone online will discover what my life has been like since 2001. And to be honest, it’s really not a big deal as long as you don’t have a problem with people not liking you. You’ll soon find that you are defined by your enemies as well as by your friends, and the more idiotic your enemies are, the better you look to the sort of intelligent, open-minded individuals whose opinions actually matter.
I welcome Peeple, as I’ve never been a fan of the cowards who think they can attack you because you are a public figure, but then start whining that it is unfair and you are “doxxing” them by posting links to their online, publicly accessible posts the moment you strike back at them. But lack of an audience is not synonymous with privacy and the moment you post anything online about anyone, you are a fair target for their online reprisals.