> Site Tours
> Features
> Off the Web
> Dr Know
TIPS to search 1
billion Web pages fast!
|
|
 
Nidhi Taparia
Beauty, in cyberspace, is pretty much just skin deep.
Feeding off the egos of ordinary mortals like you and me, free rating sites allow users to post personal pictures that are then rated - by anyone and everyone -- on a scale of 1 to 10. Lets the world decide whether or not we're as good looking as we think we are.
After more than a year of being hot, AmIhot, which has over 200,000 submitted photographs, has launched Am I Hot extra, a private messaging service that allows admirers to send private messages too.
This clickable meat market has a rating system accompanying each photograph. Its 'Stock Yard' holds a general collection of photographs, while 'Fresh Meat' boasts of the day's collection. Accompanying each picture is a descriptive line ranging from a cryptic 'Dusty' to a direct
'Look at me!' There also statistics and, if you like what you see, you can send a message, in public or private, asking him or her for a date.
Addicts to site admit to logging on every couple of hours to check whether their ratings have upped or not. What helps is a 'flaunt-it-if you-have-it' attitude, saucy screen name, and a detailed member profile to help you make it to the favourites section.
So, if you think nobody noticed your new haircut, or your friends don't think you're that great, get your ego boost here. If you think you're alone, chew on what one of the founders of Hot or Not had to say: "Even professional models have submitted pictures, which are sometimes taken down because they appear fake."
A word of advice: Don't look for deep human insights. Critiques range from, "she's basically a hot dog," to "let's make hot babies!"
There are loads of imitators around now. From a bawdy Bangable.com to KissorMiss.com, to spoofs like Am I President or Not?, Monkey, Hot or Not etc.
Rising hits have prompted Yahoo to actually devote a separate category to these me too versions. Some of the interesting ones are Goodlooking India, which proudly claims to be inspired by the popular foreign versions.
How many would it take asks you how many beers it would take for you to rate a photograph as 'sexy.' Am I PHAT is an acronym for pretty, hot and tempting, letting you search for pictures in different age groups and geographical areas. Am I geek or not shows you how to tell one geek from another, while Ride Judge goes beyond you, rating your car instead. And hey, you can also rate your pet at Pet Me!
Most founders admit that these sites were put up for a lark. They also believe that they become hits because they are so insanely viral.
The latest for vanity freaks is 'ego surfing', a craze amongst surfers who are beginning to find their own names a compelling subject to study. The process is - as most narcissists will tell you - quite simple. All you have to do is enter your name at Google (they even have term for it: 'googling') or any popular search engine, and then find out exactly where you stand on the Net. Most may throw up teeny bits of information like, for example, your college roll number, or maybe a snippet about your winning goal at a football game years ago.
However, not all ego sites have survived. One tough blow has been to egosurf.com, which was designed as a freebie. Users could enter a name, get a list of links containing that name, and receive e-mail updates whenever new links were found. Sadly, the largest providers of an application for self-centred surfing found that pandering to egos wasn't much of a money spinner, and opted out to sell services to businesses instead.
Nonetheless, the next time your girlfriend leaves you with a bruised ego, simply log on to fall in love with yourself all over again.
|