Netflix, social media, and PR
So, at first I got really upset when I heard the news about Netflix splitting the streaming and DVD plans apart. I've been a Netflix member for quite some time now so the changes came as a bit of a shock, especially when I saw it would be almost double ($15.98+applicable tax). I just finished telling my friends I couldn't spend $15/month to play World of Warcraft and suddenly that number pops up again!
But after having several people defend the change in price, and someone sending me the Netflix blog link that gave a teensy bit more explanation, I've calmed down. It's not Netflix's fault - the movie studios don't like streaming. Period. Yet, at the same time, they realize it is in demand and that it is keeping Netflix alive so they are being total dicks about the whole thing. So Netflix has to pass it on a little bit. And really, this could have been a lot worse. They could have NOT offered the seperated plans and just have said "Okay, it's $15 now". But they are giving us a choice and the $7.99 plan is actually less than what I was paying so...I'll save a couple bucks.
The reason I over-reacted was because I had to learn about this from tumblr and twitter. I still have not received the email with this information. I checked my spam box and did not see it there. So I was really confused when Mike Nelson (of MST3K) began tweeting about how angry he was at Netflix. And then I went to tumblr and someone had posted a screencap of the letter that was sent to subscribers and I was like "WTF?!?!" and over-reacted.
But, to be honest, the last two DVDs I've rented, I've hung on to for a month before finally forcing myself to watch them. In fact, one of the DVDs I had for so long, when I sent it back, it was streaming! It's sad, I'm too lazy to actually turn on all the equipment required to view a DVD, but I'll turn on my xbox and hit up Netflix, no problem. Or my PC. Or my Wii. Or my iPhone. Yeah, I think streaming wins over DVDs for me. So I'm just going to downgrade to $7.99. There are very few movies I NEED TO SEE RIGHT NOW OMG when they come out on DVD. And since Netflix will still have that "SAVE" feature, I can just move all my movies over to that list and maybe someday they will be streaming. Or the library will have a copy in I can check out.
In the end, I think this is the way things will go -- movies will stream and we will pay to stream them. I hope the unlimited streaming lasts. I think physical discs will become the thing of collectors and movie buffs. If you like a movie enough, you'll buy the blu-ray for the full experience. Having movies only up for streaming for a limited time makes sense to me. It's just like the premiun cable channels, but instead of them running shitty movies over and over, you can PICK which shitty movie you want to watch and when.
So, I guess what I'm saying is, I'm sorry I got mad at you Netflix. You were right, I was wrong. It's just your letter was lost in the mail and I had to find out from a third party, which made me very upset. I hope we can at least still be friends. And, in the long run, you're saving me $2 a month! So, thanks! I'll put that money to good use. Probalby buying a blu-ray of a movie I love. :)
[EDIT: this post was also going to include some musings on social media and PR and the modern age of marketing...but I got too freakin tired and decided to watch Avatar: The Last Airbender on instant view instead so just pretend I said something brilliant here. Thank you and good night]
But after having several people defend the change in price, and someone sending me the Netflix blog link that gave a teensy bit more explanation, I've calmed down. It's not Netflix's fault - the movie studios don't like streaming. Period. Yet, at the same time, they realize it is in demand and that it is keeping Netflix alive so they are being total dicks about the whole thing. So Netflix has to pass it on a little bit. And really, this could have been a lot worse. They could have NOT offered the seperated plans and just have said "Okay, it's $15 now". But they are giving us a choice and the $7.99 plan is actually less than what I was paying so...I'll save a couple bucks.
The reason I over-reacted was because I had to learn about this from tumblr and twitter. I still have not received the email with this information. I checked my spam box and did not see it there. So I was really confused when Mike Nelson (of MST3K) began tweeting about how angry he was at Netflix. And then I went to tumblr and someone had posted a screencap of the letter that was sent to subscribers and I was like "WTF?!?!" and over-reacted.
But, to be honest, the last two DVDs I've rented, I've hung on to for a month before finally forcing myself to watch them. In fact, one of the DVDs I had for so long, when I sent it back, it was streaming! It's sad, I'm too lazy to actually turn on all the equipment required to view a DVD, but I'll turn on my xbox and hit up Netflix, no problem. Or my PC. Or my Wii. Or my iPhone. Yeah, I think streaming wins over DVDs for me. So I'm just going to downgrade to $7.99. There are very few movies I NEED TO SEE RIGHT NOW OMG when they come out on DVD. And since Netflix will still have that "SAVE" feature, I can just move all my movies over to that list and maybe someday they will be streaming. Or the library will have a copy in I can check out.
In the end, I think this is the way things will go -- movies will stream and we will pay to stream them. I hope the unlimited streaming lasts. I think physical discs will become the thing of collectors and movie buffs. If you like a movie enough, you'll buy the blu-ray for the full experience. Having movies only up for streaming for a limited time makes sense to me. It's just like the premiun cable channels, but instead of them running shitty movies over and over, you can PICK which shitty movie you want to watch and when.
So, I guess what I'm saying is, I'm sorry I got mad at you Netflix. You were right, I was wrong. It's just your letter was lost in the mail and I had to find out from a third party, which made me very upset. I hope we can at least still be friends. And, in the long run, you're saving me $2 a month! So, thanks! I'll put that money to good use. Probalby buying a blu-ray of a movie I love. :)
[EDIT: this post was also going to include some musings on social media and PR and the modern age of marketing...but I got too freakin tired and decided to watch Avatar: The Last Airbender on instant view instead so just pretend I said something brilliant here. Thank you and good night]