Comments on The Official Netflix Blog: A Facebook thing...

thank you for writing this article so resources ri...

2008-08-17T18:08:00.000-07:00

thank you for writing this article so resources rich!

i liked a lot reading your interesting post, thank...

2008-04-02T11:09:00.000-07:00

i liked a lot reading your interesting post, thank you very much for writing it!

i think that s really a great thing, than any soci...

2008-03-23T20:53:00.000-07:00

i think that s really a great thing, than any social networking stuff naw seems to run well...

I just finished up this application for Facebook t...

2008-03-10T11:51:00.000-07:00

I just finished up this application for Facebook that might address some of the needs that people already commented on. Check it out.

Netflix Facebook Application

I too plan on switching to Blockbuster. Not just ...

2008-02-07T11:12:00.000-08:00

I too plan on switching to Blockbuster. Not just because I get less for my money that PC users but also because the customer service is non-existent. I have inquired on 3-5 occasions about various things and have never once had a single question addressed.

I'm planning to switch to Blockbuster if I can par...

2008-02-07T04:17:00.000-08:00

I'm planning to switch to Blockbuster if I can partially because of this lack.

1. Don't know how that works, but why should/would...

2007-11-23T13:29:00.000-08:00

1. Don't know how that works, but why should/would the studios trust an untested system? Surely better that they all get together and write their own DRM's that work on all platforms, and which really protect them?

2 and 3. One assumes that Netflix is already doing that, since we can be sure that they want this resolved just as badly as mac and linux users because of all the negative publicity and defections.

4 and (5). Couldn't agree more. They've handled it atrociously.

Thanks for your thoughts.

These are the ways that Netflix has something to d...

2007-11-23T12:07:00.000-08:00

These are the ways that Netflix has something to do with it.

1. Netflix could write their own DRM. Though if I were Netflix, I wouldn't want to touch that with a 10-foot pole.

2. Netflix can put pressure on the studios to give up on the useless DRM. I don't expect them to have any luck, but they can put on more pressure than I can as an individual.

3. Ditto for Apple and licensing their DRM.

4. Netflix could offer a cheaper subscription plan without Watch Now.

The moment Netflix started using Watch Now as the main part of their advertising campaign is the moment I stopped having pity on them regarding this. I have to wonder how many Mac/Linux people they fooled into signing up for Netflix. I never saw any mention of "Windows only" in their ads.

I don't understand that DRM stuffWho the heck does...

2007-11-23T10:45:00.000-08:00

I don't understand that DRM stuff

Who the heck does, when pirated movies are available on the web almost before they're released, with illicit copies being sneaked out of the labs, the editing room, the movie house, or just stripped of their DRMs by savvy hackers - none of whom are likely to be shelling out any of their 'hard earned cash' to Netflix every month! So the studios should be concentrating on shutting down the pirating operations rather than thinking that those famously rippable Microsoft DRM's are doing squat to protect their interests.

But since they seem determined to hang onto that misappredelusion, and since Apple perhaps understandably refuses to license their own DRM's, I'm not sure how people expect Netflix to be able to make 'Watch Now' available to us non-dual-boot Macs users for right now? Their customer relations on the subject sure could do with some work, but as to the technicalities and legalities it sounds to me like their hands are tied in the short term.

How is that mistaken, Baff?

You are mistaken.Well, I'm not surprised since I d...

2007-11-23T08:20:00.000-08:00

You are mistaken.

Well, I'm not surprised since I don't understand that DRM stuff. That's why I said other posters can explain it better... I should have just left it at that. :)

The last Mac Watch Now update we got was over 3 mo...

2007-11-21T16:15:00.000-08:00

The last Mac Watch Now update we got was over 3 months ago.

http://blog.netflix.com/2007/08/instant-watching-on-mac-firefox-and.html

The gist of it is that they hope to have support for some (not all) Macs sometime in 2008.

"basically it has nothing to do with Netflix"

You are mistaken.

I have 20 Fans, all of whom I have Faved. I also h...

2007-11-21T15:44:00.000-08:00

I have 20 Fans, all of whom I have Faved. I also have 20 Faves who have not Faved me. That's 20 reciprical Faves and 20 non-reciprical Faves.(no Freinds)
Total "associates" = 40.

My profile that I see shows "0 Freinds,40 Faves".
My outward facing profile shows "60 Freinds and Faves", but the actual page listing of Freinds and Faves (and Fans) shows the correct 40.

I assume that my girlfreind will deduce that I have 20 Fans (yay), but that she will not be able to identify them (awww).

Is this double-counting system correct? I would prefer a simpler deduction method for determining how many fans someone has. Perhaps it could be listed as a number!

(Hey, someone's got to think of some new ideas - how old is this thread anyways?) {;^)

@greg -- that topic has been discussed at length i...

2007-11-21T15:21:00.000-08:00

@greg -- that topic has been discussed at length in this blog. Other posters here can explain it better (or better yet, provide the link to the specific post -- I can't remember when it was posted) but basically it has nothing to do with Netflix.

It would be cool to integrate Netflix with Faceboo...

2007-11-21T14:49:00.000-08:00

It would be cool to integrate Netflix with Facebook. Sounds fun. But what would really be of value would be if the millions of Mac users were not excluded from real features such as "Play it Now". As one of those millions, I feel like I am paying the same and getting less. That's because I AM paying the same and getting less. Perhaps the blog is not the place to register this complaint. However after chasing down a way to send a message on the Netflix site itself, I sent a message on 3 different occasions asking about this subject and have never heard back. Not even an "form letter" type of response. Just no response at all.

So. does our business matter to you? You're working on integrating with facebook. How about the Mac. How about a little customer service. Hello.... Anyone?

Regarding the last two polls... unless the sim per...

2007-11-20T16:37:00.000-08:00

Regarding the last two polls... unless the sim percentages become more accurate I don't see how that's useful to me at all. Besides there being such a discrepancy between friends and faves (a friend of mine had an 86% sim to me but when I changed him into a fave, he dropped to 32%), when I click on one of the high sims in the box on the community page, I find that I have nothing in common with the person. On a side note, does anyone else get a kick out of finding your own profile through a friend or fave and seeing that you're 100% similar to yourself?

Regarding instant viewing... I just saw on another website (NBC, I think) that they expect to have support for Macs early next year and I wonder if that's true of other sites as well, including Netflix.

"Can you comment on whether instant viewing compen...

2007-11-20T12:26:00.000-08:00

"Can you comment on whether instant viewing compensates writers as DVD's do?"

Netflix pays the studios. Its been up to the studios to pay the writers or not.

One of the studios had the idea to pay them on the same scale as dvds, which is part of the reason for the strike. The writers are not at all happy with the dvd deal, so they certainly don't want it to apply to downloads too. My impression is that studios have not been paying the writers anything for Netflix downloads (or any other downloads).

These are just things I've gleaned from watching the news and reading various articles, so take it with a grain of salt.

I wouldn't mind seeing a Facebook app, but here ar...

2007-11-20T11:43:00.000-08:00

I wouldn't mind seeing a Facebook app, but here are my thoughts:

1. It would be much better to integrate with Flixster, I'd hate to be duplicating everything. Buy them or work out a partnership for mutual benefit.

2. I'm much more interested in improved DVD quality (less scratches) and availability of instant viewing on the Mac platform than Facebook integration.

3. Can you comment on whether instant viewing compensates writers as DVD's do?

Speaking of toggles, I'm still itching for a way t...

2007-11-20T11:13:00.000-08:00

Speaking of toggles, I'm still itching for a way to re-arrange the reviews on the movie pages - whether by sim%, rating or date. Especially since the 'most helpful' ranking for movies that were available before the 'one-member-one-vote' policy came into effect will forever remain slightly suspect. Is that in the works, perchance?

About the poll… Personally, I don’t really know wh...

2007-11-20T07:23:00.000-08:00

About the poll…

Personally, I don’t really know which would work better for me. Sim-to-Me has obvious advantages, especially as Netflix gets better at quantifying that. But on the other hand, highest rated could be interesting because I’m more interested in finding suggestions rather than warnings. The cream of the crop would be nice but would that leave room for quirkiness? I know I fave a lot of not so similar reviewers because quality of thought, reasoning and communication skills are much more important than conformity of taste. I want Netflix to help me expand my horizons. Then again, tuning into the all Comedy channel, or all Horror, all Romance, or whatever, has tempting appeal.

No chance of a toggle between the three I suppose?

Becky Glass

Hear, hear. But unfortunately 'Pop' disagrees. Her...

2007-11-19T12:12:00.000-08:00

Hear, hear. But unfortunately 'Pop' disagrees. Herewith Reed Hastings being interviewed about a 6 day week by 'Hacking Netflix' on 7/11/06 :

"It’s a cost tradeoff, right, because then you can’t run a standard five day shift. So when you move to a 6th day, then you’ve got not one management team, you’ve got staggered. So the cost is not just 15% more, because you’ve got to figure out dual management, and how you’re going to infringe on people on people’s weekends and yet give them a life. So we make sure that the Monday through Friday works well, and that’s the focus."

Hey, if Netflix is able to arrange for shipment of...

2007-11-19T10:43:00.000-08:00

Hey, if Netflix is able to arrange for shipment of disks on federal (postal) holidays, then why the $#&*!@% can't they get it together to send disks out on saturdays?! This is no longer a mom & pop operation, your big boys now. Get with it!
PS: I love you guys

Michal@netflix said - "We will get around to posti...

2007-11-19T04:04:00.000-08:00

Michal@netflix said - "We will get around to posting a block somewhere on the site that announces the "leaderboard" of influencers -- but not yet. We continue to tweak the algorithms involved (how much weight to put on profile views vs, say, additions to your queue from a given person; or how to address the very helpful notion of telling people NOT to see a movie and they don't... and of course, what is the relative importance of a good Top 10 List vs a good review)."

Michael, The problem with a leaderboard is that those people will remain the leaders because Netflix users will click on their links because of easy access. The leaderboard would discourage those who are posting more reviews/lists to become more influential, by turning it into an uphill battle.

As far as rankings go... I want quality, not quant...

2007-11-18T23:48:00.000-08:00

As far as rankings go... I want quality, not quantity. A lot of the reviews from the people that are pumping them out are complete and utter drivel. They're just reviewing en masse in order to boost their ratings, which is rather pathetic if you really sit down and think about it.

I want to read a well thought out, insightful and unique point of view not some cookie-cutter, two paragraph "review" filled with grammatical and spelling errors. Again, give me quality over quantity any day.

But what do I know, I'm only rated 18,000 currently. :)

Has anyone seen 'Slammer' recently, the original #...

2007-11-17T10:43:00.000-08:00

Has anyone seen 'Slammer' recently, the original #2?

Hmmm.....interesting. I thought those were the num...

2007-11-16T16:22:00.000-08:00

Hmmm.....interesting. I thought those were the number of reviews they'd written - and very intimidating it was too.