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Eh, as a user Netflix original content is a large part of why I still have a subscription. I used Netflix back when it was mailing me DVDs, and loved the onlin

Eh, as a user Netflix original content is a large part of why I still have a subscription. I used Netflix back when it was mailing me DVDs, and loved the online streaming back in the halcyon days when it seemed like they had everything. Then came the dark days when content owners began pulling their IP from Netflix and scattering it all over the internet behind a dozen different options that offered them more money or control, and Netflix was a barren wasteland without anything that caught my eye; my queue was a variety of B-tier series that I tried a few episodes of and gave up on. So I canceled my subscription, for several years. It didn't matter what their UX or uptime was or how smooth their video codecs, they didn't have enough content I wanted to watch. Then I came back for the original content -- I forget which series first made me sign back up; House of Cards? -- and while I watch licensed content on Netflix from time to time, at least half of what I watch is produced by Netflix.

musingsole 5y ago
> It didn't matter what their UX or uptime was or how smooth their video codecs, they didn't have enough content I wanted to watch. Netflix has developed a novel data system (as evidenced by papermill) that is likely responsible for countless decisions that manifested the content which brought you back. I don't know first hand but I suspect data is integrated into their everyday processes in ways most companies can't even dream of. Does that make them a technology company again?
- saalweachter 5y ago
  And Disney/Pixar is constantly pushing the bleeding edge of computer animation and CGI special effects. Is Disney a technology company?
  - mattkrause 5y ago
    Disney's research divisions do a lot of really cool stuff: - https://studios.disneyresearch.com/publications/ https://studios.disneyresearch.com/publications/ - https://la.disneyresearch.com/publication/ https://la.disneyresearch.com/publication/
  - makeitdouble 5y ago
    As much as I am not a fan of Disney, I think they are. Even outside of movies they have significant care to innovate and push the boundaries, for instance in theme park animatronics or toys in general.
- asdff 5y ago
  This is a little bit hyperbole don't you think? I think companies with means these days just invest in this sort of technology because that's what you do in business now. Target is a department store but I wouldn't be surprised to learn they are hiring pure machine learning researchers too and doing remarkable things with data as well, same goes for any large company. 60 years ago you had large companies operating complex switchboards in their offices but you would never call these businesses telephone companies even though they operated their own internal telephone network. That sort of technology was just a tool of the trade, just like data science is now for large companies. I wouldn't call netflix a technology company when literally every large video production company is investing in the same things and trying to hire the same sort of talent, and you wouldn't call MGM or warner brothers a technology company either.
  - musingsole 5y ago
    Is Coca-Cola a sugary drinks company, a logistics company, or a technology company producing hardware, software, chemical engineering processes and countless other disciplines to enable international scale methods and logistics employed in delivering various liquids and other goods all over the globe?
    - asdff 5y ago
      It's still a sugary drinks company in my eyes, because all the things you listed are necessary parts to become a sugary drinks company as large as coca cola or pepsi in this day and age.

musingsole 5y ago

> It didn't matter what their UX or uptime was or how smooth their video codecs, they didn't have enough content I wanted to watch. Netflix has developed a novel data system (as evidenced by papermill) that is likely responsible for countless decisions that manifested the content which brought you back. I don't know first hand but I suspect data is integrated into their everyday processes in ways most companies can't even dream of. Does that make them a technology company again?

saalweachter 5y ago
And Disney/Pixar is constantly pushing the bleeding edge of computer animation and CGI special effects. Is Disney a technology company?
- mattkrause 5y ago
  Disney's research divisions do a lot of really cool stuff: - https://studios.disneyresearch.com/publications/ https://studios.disneyresearch.com/publications/ - https://la.disneyresearch.com/publication/ https://la.disneyresearch.com/publication/
- makeitdouble 5y ago
  As much as I am not a fan of Disney, I think they are. Even outside of movies they have significant care to innovate and push the boundaries, for instance in theme park animatronics or toys in general.
asdff 5y ago
This is a little bit hyperbole don't you think? I think companies with means these days just invest in this sort of technology because that's what you do in business now. Target is a department store but I wouldn't be surprised to learn they are hiring pure machine learning researchers too and doing remarkable things with data as well, same goes for any large company. 60 years ago you had large companies operating complex switchboards in their offices but you would never call these businesses telephone companies even though they operated their own internal telephone network. That sort of technology was just a tool of the trade, just like data science is now for large companies. I wouldn't call netflix a technology company when literally every large video production company is investing in the same things and trying to hire the same sort of talent, and you wouldn't call MGM or warner brothers a technology company either.
- musingsole 5y ago
  Is Coca-Cola a sugary drinks company, a logistics company, or a technology company producing hardware, software, chemical engineering processes and countless other disciplines to enable international scale methods and logistics employed in delivering various liquids and other goods all over the globe?
  - asdff 5y ago
    It's still a sugary drinks company in my eyes, because all the things you listed are necessary parts to become a sugary drinks company as large as coca cola or pepsi in this day and age.