Last week, to a resounding cry of “Why the hell would you ever do this?”, a Canadian startup announced it is building a “Yelp for people” called Peeple. In a petulant essay on LinkedIn, the app’s co-creator says the universally negative reaction to Peeple is proof the world needs it. Somehow.
Peeple cannot be opted out of, and as long as someone has your cell number, they can leave a review about you. Its inventors, Julia Cordray and Nicole McCullough, insisted to the Washington Post that the purpose of the app is to leave positive, constructive reviews. They said at the time that if someone is not registered for the app, their profile will only show positive reviews, and that negative reviews will always live in limbo for 48 hours to give the parties time to work it out: “If you cannot turn a negative into a positive the comment will go live and then you can publicly defend yourself.”
While it’s certainly nice that high school students wishing to torment each other will have another tool at their disposal, the reaction to Peeple from adults was pretty much universal horror and disgust. McCullough and Cordray first responded by putting up—this is real— an “Ode to Courage” on their site, congratulating themselves for making something everyone hates:
An Ode to Courage: 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. We know you are amazing, special, and unique individuals and most likely would never shout that from the rooftops. The people who know you will though…they choose to be around you and in your life and support you even when you don’t like yourself. We have come so far as a society but in a digital world we are becoming so disconnected and lonely. You deserve better and to have more abundance, joy, and real authentic connections. You deserve to make better decisions with more information to protect your children and your biggest assets. You have worked so hard to get the reputation you have among the people that know you. As innovators we want to make your life better and have the opportunity to prove how great it feels to be loved by so many in a public space. We are a positivity app launching in November 2015. Whether you love us or our concept or not; we still welcome everyone to explore this online village of love and abundance for all.
In an essay published Sunday on LinkedIn, Cordray says she’s received “death threats and extremely insulting comments,” all because people misunderstood her extremely innocent, positive, and loving app for ranking people as though they’re inanimate goods and services. She now claims that there is no way to even leave a negative review, and no 48-hour waiting period to take it down, should one slip through: