In the ongoing dialogue about the pros and cons of how involved to get in the social media revolution comes a real monkey wrench: Unvarnished.

In case you haven't already heard, Unvarnished, which is currently in beta testing, is a new social networking site that will allow “people rating” — from the sounds of it, kind of like LinkedIn on crack cocaine.

Actually, from the description, Unvarnished seems to more closely resemble sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor, except what's being ranked (or ranked on) isn't a company, it's you. Yes, Unvarnished allows anonymous reviewers to take potshots, not at your business, but you as a business professional.

From the Getunvarnished.com site:

Unvarnished reviews help you get the inside scoop on other business professionals, providing candid assessments of coworkers, potential hires, business partners, and more.
By contributing Unvarnished reviews, you can share your knowledge of other professionals, giving credit where credit is due, and valuable feedback where needed.
Lastly, your own Unvarnished profile, which you may create yourself or claim one that has been created for you, helps you take control of and build your own professional reputation. Get recognition for your accomplishments and actively manage your career growth.

Doesn't sound so scary — except that the reviews are “reviewer identities are hidden from reviews,” and your own profile can either be created by you, or someone who is reviewing you. When this is the case, you can “claim your profile,” and “actively build and manage” your professional reputation. Unfortunately, this seems to primarily consist of defending yourself against anonymous slings and arrows tossed by virtually anyone who chooses to do so.

And although there appears to be a set of review guidelines (reviews should be “business based,” “well written” and “honest”), these seem more like suggestions than rules. There doesn't appear to be any moderation system, something that's in place on even the weirdest of message boards. And with 400,000 professional profiles already loaded into the Unvarnished system, your name might already be up there.

The hue and cry has already gone up over the implications of Unvarnished. Seems to me it would be a legal nightmare (or dream, depending on what side you're coming from), including claims of defamation, privacy violations and libel, not to mention EPL suits if an Unvarnished review results in hiring, firing or job discrimination issues. A recent Chicago Tribune article quotes Unvarnished developer Peter Kazanjy as calling his brainchild “big and scary,” and a Harvard pundit describing it as empowering “hate, exclusion and polarization.”

Granted, some of the fluffy recommendations on LinkedIn, most solicited by the recipients, should be taken with a grain of salt. But rating a fellow human being isn't the same as giving one star to a lousy restaurant or complaining about the dirty sheets at a chain motel. No matter how much Unvarnished may claim it's only rating “professionalism,” the personal aspect is bound to leak in.

In the cutthroat business of insurance, where policies are constantly being shopped and switched, a couple of unsubstantiated bad reviews for an insurance agent can make or break a business. And unless you just started doing business yesterday, you're bound to have a couple of complaints somewhere in your professional history.

I'd love to hear what you think about this latest wrinkle in social media. Does Unvarnished scare you?

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