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Content has become like the toothpaste aisle - https://www.metropolismag.com/uncategorized/the-toothpaste-aisle/ https://www.metropolismag.com/uncategorized/the

by op03 6y ago

Content has become like the toothpaste aisle - https://www.metropolismag.com/uncategorized/the-toothpaste-aisle/ https://www.metropolismag.com/uncategorized/the-toothpaste-a... And the toothpaste aisle wars, as the link explains well, usually end with consolidation around 2 players. Given that Netflix has racked up quite a bit of debt to dominate the aisle, and now serious cash rich competitors like Disney, Apple (and lets throw in Amazon) enter the scene, does it really matters what moves Netflix makes? Is Netflix story done? Do Disney and Amazon end up dominating the aisle in a couple years? But this story feels slightly different than the tooth paste story. There is that scene in GoT where the knight stands protecting a big secret. Challengers arrive. The knight knows this is going to be a fight to the death, as the secret is that important. And he says, "Now it begins". And the challenger replies "No now it ends". What matters is neither the knight or the challenger but the secret.

skohan 6y ago
I'm not sure if the analogy lands. Toothpaste is all about branding/packaging because there's essentially no difference in terms of what's inside the tube. Media is almost the opposite: the quality of content actually matters quite a lot to the consumer. That's not to say Netflix won't be out-competed by bigger players, but media creation is probably more correlated with organizational competence, and less correlated with pure spending power than many other industries.
- Semaphor 6y ago
  > because there's essentially no difference in terms of what's inside the tube At the risk of creating a tangent, but I disagree. I actually pay extra for Sensodyne Some-specific-subbrand-here because I like the taste the best: Barely minty, barely sweet. For me the most important part about toothpaste is the taste.
  - skohan 6y ago
    Have you done a blind taste-test? Research has shown that a lot of our perceptions around the experience of a product can be influenced by presentation and branding.
    - Semaphor 6y ago
      I’m not going to buy a bunch of toothpastes just to compare them. I simply tried toothpastes till I found one I liked.
sogen 6y ago
@op03 great read about consolidation, makes total sense, they will throw things at the wall and see what sticks, quickly replacing them with the next big shiny thing, and drop it quickly as well. Repeat.

by op03 6y ago

skohan 6y ago

I'm not sure if the analogy lands. Toothpaste is all about branding/packaging because there's essentially no difference in terms of what's inside the tube. Media is almost the opposite: the quality of content actually matters quite a lot to the consumer. That's not to say Netflix won't be out-competed by bigger players, but media creation is probably more correlated with organizational competence, and less correlated with pure spending power than many other industries.

Semaphor 6y ago
> because there's essentially no difference in terms of what's inside the tube At the risk of creating a tangent, but I disagree. I actually pay extra for Sensodyne Some-specific-subbrand-here because I like the taste the best: Barely minty, barely sweet. For me the most important part about toothpaste is the taste.
- skohan 6y ago
  Have you done a blind taste-test? Research has shown that a lot of our perceptions around the experience of a product can be influenced by presentation and branding.
  - Semaphor 6y ago
    I’m not going to buy a bunch of toothpastes just to compare them. I simply tried toothpastes till I found one I liked.

sogen 6y ago

@op03 great read about consolidation, makes total sense, they will throw things at the wall and see what sticks, quickly replacing them with the next big shiny thing, and drop it quickly as well. Repeat.