4 ms·

Why don’t I even have the option to have friends on Netflix and make lists of movies I watch that I think they would like?

micromacrofoot 4y ago
This is one of those features that people think they want, and would cost Netflix a ton of money, but would ultimately become filled with spam and would only have a small number of power users. It's a big money pit that does little to retain users and generate revenue. "More social" has been pitched to Spotify countless times and it would likely face a similar fate.
- jamiek88 4y ago
  Yep just like all apples attempts. If iTunes can’t even leverage its install base (ubiquitous back then) to make Ping a success (remember Ping?! I was one of the dozens of active users) around music or Game Center social features around games then I don’t see why it’d be any different for video.
- JohnJamesRambo 4y ago
  Why would that cost a ton of money?
  - micromacrofoot 4y ago
    why would building an entire social network cost a ton of money? it’s an entirely different product - dozens of features and content moderation just to get something simple out there…
    - JohnJamesRambo 4y ago
      Idk doesn’t seem that hard honestly. Websites with much less resources do it all the time. I’m not asking for a Facebook clone I just want to be able to have friends and make lists for them and they make lists for me.
SourPatch 4y ago
They had this feature (sort of). I don't remember if you could recommend movies to others, but you could have friends and see each other's viewing history.
dredmorbius 4y ago
This has been tried ... numerous times. I recall a brief-lived CBS Interactive site / app in the late aughts. Went nowhere. Most such interaction now occurs within extant social groups. Much as you'd watch a TV show or go to a theatre with friends, most people now discuss films on their self-centric social media. FB / Instagram / Reddit / Twitter, etc., usually with at least some people they know directly. Conversing with absolute strangers has far less appeal.
- JohnJamesRambo 4y ago
  Well I mean Netflix has a bit more reach than CBS interactive haha.
  - dredmorbius 4y ago
    Well, CBS Interactive is a branch of CBS, the broadcaster. A decade and a half ago, its reach was greater than Netflix's. My point wasn't the scale of the hosting network but the failure of broadcaster- (or program-originator-) centric "interactive" television concepts. I think the trope existed even when Neil Postman was writing his books ... not sure if this shows up in Amusing Ourselves to Death or Technopoly, or both, though I think it does. They're 1980s / 1990s. Postman died in 2003 though, so if it was him, it was early in Internet time. Wikipedia lists attempts dating to the 1950s, though these were not networked interactions. Those existed, however, by 1977. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interactive_television https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interactive_television>
crtasm 4y ago
Netflix doesn't want to look bad when they see things on your list that are no longer available. I guess they could hide/remove them but then it looks bad to the list creator.

micromacrofoot 4y ago

This is one of those features that people think they want, and would cost Netflix a ton of money, but would ultimately become filled with spam and would only have a small number of power users. It's a big money pit that does little to retain users and generate revenue. "More social" has been pitched to Spotify countless times and it would likely face a similar fate.

jamiek88 4y ago
Yep just like all apples attempts. If iTunes can’t even leverage its install base (ubiquitous back then) to make Ping a success (remember Ping?! I was one of the dozens of active users) around music or Game Center social features around games then I don’t see why it’d be any different for video.
JohnJamesRambo 4y ago
Why would that cost a ton of money?
- micromacrofoot 4y ago
  why would building an entire social network cost a ton of money? it’s an entirely different product - dozens of features and content moderation just to get something simple out there…
  - JohnJamesRambo 4y ago
    Idk doesn’t seem that hard honestly. Websites with much less resources do it all the time. I’m not asking for a Facebook clone I just want to be able to have friends and make lists for them and they make lists for me.

SourPatch 4y ago

They had this feature (sort of). I don't remember if you could recommend movies to others, but you could have friends and see each other's viewing history.

dredmorbius 4y ago

This has been tried ... numerous times. I recall a brief-lived CBS Interactive site / app in the late aughts. Went nowhere. Most such interaction now occurs within extant social groups. Much as you'd watch a TV show or go to a theatre with friends, most people now discuss films on their self-centric social media. FB / Instagram / Reddit / Twitter, etc., usually with at least some people they know directly. Conversing with absolute strangers has far less appeal.

JohnJamesRambo 4y ago
Well I mean Netflix has a bit more reach than CBS interactive haha.
- dredmorbius 4y ago
  Well, CBS Interactive is a branch of CBS, the broadcaster. A decade and a half ago, its reach was greater than Netflix's. My point wasn't the scale of the hosting network but the failure of broadcaster- (or program-originator-) centric "interactive" television concepts. I think the trope existed even when Neil Postman was writing his books ... not sure if this shows up in Amusing Ourselves to Death or Technopoly, or both, though I think it does. They're 1980s / 1990s. Postman died in 2003 though, so if it was him, it was early in Internet time. Wikipedia lists attempts dating to the 1950s, though these were not networked interactions. Those existed, however, by 1977. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interactive_television https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interactive_television>

crtasm 4y ago

Netflix doesn't want to look bad when they see things on your list that are no longer available. I guess they could hide/remove them but then it looks bad to the list creator.