Sweet Site of the Day: Rapleaf

Oh. my. wow. I just discovered the freaking craziest web site ever. Well, I'm moved by it, obviously.

I was searching for a Facebook application to display my networks on my home page. You see, I just joined the Ohio University network, and I'm eager to show it off. Well, I found an application called "Social Networks by UpScoop." Its description: "An easy way to display which social networks you are on." Great. Perfect. I'll take it. Until...

I browse through the application homepage, and see this post (obviously directed at the application's creator) in the user comments:


Alexander List (Austria) wrote at 6:56am on August 21st, 2007

Dan, you are confusing people with your posting, instead of clarifying the situation.

I have never registered with Rapleaf, I just entered my e-mail address to some initial dialog of the Upscoop application.

Now, there's a Rapleaf profile for me, that, by chance, exactly dates back to when I installed (and subsequently removed) the Upscoop application. To summarize the facts:

You are collecting e-mail addresses here. You are adding users to Rapleaf without their consent.

IMHO, you are violating Facebook policy.

I will *not* register with Rapleaf just to have *my* address removed - this is a matter of principle. You are damaging the web of trust that Facebook users expect here on Facebook.

Alex


I was instantly interested in what Rapleaf was. So I Googled it, of course. And this is what I saw.


Rapleaf: Online Reputation Lookup. This site allows you to search your email address to see what kind of an internet footprint you leave, more or less. It shows you everything your address is associated with - profiles, social networking and all. I thought of it as a credit report for your email address. Well, intrigued, I entered my addy and clicked "Look It Up." And then this is what I saw:


Notice the box that says, "Profile Stats?" It says, "Hey, we haven't seen this email before, come back in an hour and we should have more information for you, thanks!" Crap. Did I just get spammed? Did I just sell my email's soul to the devil? I'm not really sure. I can't even decide if I like this site.

On one hand, it tracks everything you do, and perhaps, all your personal information that goes with each of the accounts it tracks. On the other hand, it is a social networking tool, and you can rate your friends' addresses and give testimonials based on their credibility. Essentially, in the end, the more I use my address for satisfying purposes, the more credibility jennslone@gmail.com has.

The purpose of this particular blog was to let you decide whether or not you want to log onto Rapleaf and risk giving your email address to a site in an attempt to see how much of your account information is being watched. If Rapleaf doesn't have it now, they will for sure an hour after you search for your address. You have the power now. You decide.


EDIT: I just checked out Rapleaf's Terms of Service agreement. It gives much more credibility and explanation to the concept.