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> So, making good content that happens to span multiple episodes? That's the kind of engagement I really don't have an issue with. No, it doesn't mean "good co

by wott 8y ago

> So, making good content that happens to span multiple episodes? That's the kind of engagement I really don't have an issue with. No, it doesn't mean "good content" at all (it can accidentally be good content, but that's not usually the case). It means the ability to use tricks to get you hooked, to have you craving for more, and to trigger binge behaviour, no matter what the content is. There was no such binge consumption before, and there was no request for new content all the time, you could watch a random episode of a 10 or 20 years old series and you were fine with it. On the contrary, with serials the writers/directors don't have to think about setting up a story that can start, develop and end in 42 minutes, which requires crafting. They can patch whichever background story (love, treason, ...) that we have seen 800 times already, and activate it when they have no other idea on where the actual story should go. Even 'better', they activate it just 30 seconds before the end of the episode, so that, dammit! I wanted to stop there and go to sleep / do something else but I click on the next episode, and there we go, again, and again. > However—Netflix has autoplay next episode turned on by default, and if you find the setting to turn it off, each episode ends with a large screen prompting you to PLEASE click to play the next episode. As someone who really likes episodes to end cleanly and give me time to think, this REALLY annoys me. Well yeah, because the point of serials is to have people binge watch them, so the most common action is to watch an episode after another after another, and the publisher wants to facilitate this and makes you binge watch as much as possible. He doesn't care if after watching 3 episodes you don't even remember the 1st one, he doesn't want to have clear ending, clear breaks that would give you the possibility to reflect and digest the episode, the point is to keep the flow going non-stop and occupy as much of your time as possible.

Wowfunhappy 8y ago
This is an interesting take. I think where I draw the line with Netflix compared to Facebook or Youtube is twofold: 1) Netflix does not have such a wealth of content that they micro-target my individual psyche†. When I watch Stranger Things, I don't feel like I'm being manipulated, and I feel satisfied with the time I spent when I'm done. 2) As long as I maintain my subscription, Netflix makes the same amount of money regardless of how much or little time I spend on their service. So I feel as though my interests are generally aligned with theirs. And, this may be neither here nor there, but I inherently like serials, and have since I was a child. I just spent nearly two years reading the Wheel of Time novels and becoming super immersed in that fantasy world. Longer and slower paced stories aren't necessarily paced poorly, although they certainly can be‡. †They can do more subtle things like adjust a show's poster image, but at least that doesn't affect the content. ‡Wheel of Time specifically has massive pacing issues, and thus may not have been the best example here.

by wott 8y ago

Wowfunhappy 8y ago

This is an interesting take. I think where I draw the line with Netflix compared to Facebook or Youtube is twofold: 1) Netflix does not have such a wealth of content that they micro-target my individual psyche†. When I watch Stranger Things, I don't feel like I'm being manipulated, and I feel satisfied with the time I spent when I'm done. 2) As long as I maintain my subscription, Netflix makes the same amount of money regardless of how much or little time I spend on their service. So I feel as though my interests are generally aligned with theirs. And, this may be neither here nor there, but I inherently like serials, and have since I was a child. I just spent nearly two years reading the Wheel of Time novels and becoming super immersed in that fantasy world. Longer and slower paced stories aren't necessarily paced poorly, although they certainly can be‡. †They can do more subtle things like adjust a show's poster image, but at least that doesn't affect the content. ‡Wheel of Time specifically has massive pacing issues, and thus may not have been the best example here.