• On ZDNet: Why I Will never buy a Mac
April 29, 2008 9:56 AM PDT

RestyleMe lets you judge others and not feel guilty about it

by Josh Lowensohn

As of two years ago People magazine was raking in a whopping $1.5 billion in revenue. Much of the magazine is photos of celebrities or other people of interest that others pay simply to flip through. One of the recurring (and most popular) features has celebrities wearing some of the worst clothing, picked out especially by the editors--usually with wonderfully snarky commentary.

In the same spirit is RestyleMe, which lets anyone with a mouse pick away at other people's "style" (or your own) in one of 10 categories with simple thumbs-up and thumbs-down voting. Like StumbleUpon, clicking to vote will take you to the next page, although the next person it jumps you to isn't based on any sort of recommendation system. The categories are simple things like hair, teeth, and clothing. You can also delve deeper with tattoos, eye wear, and facial hair.

What makes the site great is that it's additively simple. One click and you're on to something new. Or you can dig deeper and see what other people have voted on for the person you just passed judgment on.

Besides browsing, everyone's photos can be organized in tags. As with a person's style, you can vote on tags as well, skimming off the bad ones and promoting the good ones. While I can't imagine myself using this site on a daily basis, it's certainly a lot of fun and brings a human touch to the equation that FaceStat, which we looked at last week did not.

Related: Closet Assistant attempts easy Web wardrobe management, social networking for turtlenecks

Judge away in 10 different categories. Don't worry about any guilt though, you can do this with total anonymity.

(Credit: CNET Networks)
Josh Lowensohn is an associate editor for Webware.com, CNET's blog about cool and otherwise useful Web applications and services. If you've found a site you'd like profiled, shoot him an e-mail. E-mail Josh.
Recent posts from Webware
Firefox 3.5 and the potential of Web typography
Sites that help you lodge complaints
Google App Engine misfires
Microsoft: Bing needs to improve when news breaks
Google finally sued by makers of Finally Fast
Google Toolbar for IE speaks your language
Bing brings out the tweets
Google Search optimized for a mess of phones
advertisement

About Webware

Say No to boxed software! The future of applications is online delivery and access. Software is passé. Webware is the new way to get things done.

Add this feed to your online news reader

Webware topics

Making sense of Windows 7 upgrades

faq The basics and the fine print on Microsoft's options for those eyeing the next operating system from Redmond.
• Full Windows 7 coverage

Road Trip 2009: Big Sky Country

CNET News reporter Daniel Terdiman takes his car full of gadgets to the Rockies and the Great Plains in search of tech, science, nature, and more.
• America's Fortress: Cheyenne Mountain

advertisement

Inside CNET News

Scroll Left Scroll Right