Peeple: the “Yelp for Humans”

We’ve all heard of Yelp, the mobile app and website that posts crowd-sourced reviews about local businesses. Well now we have Peeple, a mobile app being talked about as the “Yelp for humans.”

This new “Yelp for humans”, Peeple, lets you rate people’s attributes, such as their professionalism, romantic lives, or personal integrity, the same you would rate a restaurant or small business. However, this app is already drawing serious criticism, saying it’s a “cyberbully’s dream.”

According to adweek.com, the app works like this: “Users must be 21, have a Facebook account and post reviewsPeeple logo with caption "an app for the people" under their real names. To add a person and review him or her, the user has to have that individual’s cellphone number to confirm the two are socially or professionally connected. Abusive commentary can be reported to Peeple’s administrators, who will decide what stays and what goes.”

This “Yelp for humans” sounds like it could get nasty, but is also a possible opportunity for marketers to individually cater their products Peeple users. Peeple could provide brands with highly relevant information to be able to target individuals. However, Peeple is still in its early stages, and has a strong possibility of becoming a breeding ground for negative attacks and cyberbullying. In this case, brands will steer clear.

Dan Hou, VP of Product Strategy at ad agency Huge says, “Peeple obviously needs a lot of work—particularly around mitigating cyberbullying—but assuming they can work out a fair system for rating individuals, I think the service could be a great marketing platform.”

Needless to say, Peeple, the “Yelp for humans,” could have huge potential for brands and marketers in the future.