I'm not sure why HOT or NOT didn't do this before, especially when you consider all of the clones that emerged across various niche topics with applications of the famed HOT or NOT voting system, but the company has finally launched a celebrity gossip vertical, hosted by Zack Taylor. The celebrity blogger will post content related to prominent pop culture happenings, and readers can rate the pop culture items in the same way they would rate someone's photo.
There are, of course, plenty of opportunities to rate celebrity photos, such as Olympic swimmer Amanda Beard, who is posing nude for a PETA campaign. By leveraging Zack Taylor's existing audience, HOT or NOT is going after a broader demographic in its efforts to grow its user base and points of interest. This appears to be a good fit, given the short form content typically found on gossip sites such as Zack Taylor's, as well as the higher level of interactivity involved in watching videos and rating content, both of which encourage users to participate with the content and ultimately offer feedback.
I imagine HOT or NOT will be looking to apply its ranking system to a few other verticals across other topics of interest. It can ultimately provide such ranking data as supplemental information on the views of particular audiences around these topics of interest, effectively expanding the life and potential of HOT or NOT as a brand.