This morning, a Monday similar to any other Monday, I was sitting in my Methods of Teaching course, when one of my classmates stopped in the middle of everything to make a semi-serious announcement. “Did you get that email from the Netflix guy?” The conversation then proceeded to talk about the change in prices from $9.99 for unlimited everything to $15.98 for the same services. Apparently, for those users of Netflix, this event is a travesty. How could the company make this swap?
What students were not discussing was the economic standpoint for Netflix to make such as switch. Instead, it was all about how this devastates the students who are no longer going to use the company. It’s true that some users quit the service immediately and called the switch ridiculous. Netflix increased their price by 50% for the exact same service. Why not quit? Users of Netflix are also upset about the loss of Starz in February. Obviously, Netflix does not want people to be satisfied with their service any longer.
Is that the case? According to Milian (2011, September 19), Netflix is changing the name of their movie shipping service to Qwikster, although the “ubiquitous red envelopes will endure.” Additionally, the company will now ship video games in a similar format.
In our age of technology, everything is about the user and the dollar. Many times, these two factors do not coincide. In this particular case, Netflix is not upset about losing Starz, but those who watched movies through the service are enraged. Milian (2011) notes that stock for Netflix “plunges as subscribers quit,” making the whole issue very two-sided.
Now we ask the main question: Why should I care? I, personally, have never used Netflix. There is something about owning a DVD in hand that makes me happy (which is hypocritical as I just bought a KINDL). In short, this type of company alteration greatly affects the way a person views their current service.
As I have been saying these past five weeks, users of technology expect it. Many have become so used to Netflix; it becomes hard to go back to normal. Not saying that it is impossible, but it is not the ideal scenario, so many rebel against it (as we see with the quitting subscribers). Technology is a vital piece of our society, but at what point do we say enough? When is an addiction to technology classified as such? I am not insinuating that those users of Netflix are addicted, but to quit a service because of a company decision shows an inability to accept change. In a thriving technology society, change is as vital as the computer we type it on. That’s just how it is.
Milian, M. (2011, September 19). Netflix renames DVD-by-mail service, adds video games. CNNMoney. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com
The Netflix company has put people into a tailspin. However, in defense of the company, as I do subscribe to Netflix, I received via e-mail and snail mail a notification and explanation of the changes the company was putting into place. The tone of each letter was professional. The company sent a link to the site and the newsletter with even more information. I agree that we are becoming to technologically dependent. There is a terrific book entitled Who Moved My Cheese? I believe some of the Netflix users should read this, of course, in its hardback form.
ReplyDeleteValerie
My wife and I finally agreed this week that it would be a good idea to purchase Apple TV and start a subscription to Netflix. We have talked about it a lot lately and the $10 a month to stream unlimited movies and shows seems like a fair price to me. We rent movies at least twice a week now and pay more than that. This way we don't have to run to the store to return the dvd's we rent.
ReplyDeleteThis is why Netflix moved to the streaming side of things, to offer a service that makes life simpler. I am excited to start streaming movies and look forward to opening a Netflix account. I
I love Netflix! It is definitely hard to go back to what I was doing before I found it. Netflix offers so much entertainment at the click of a button. I don’t have to own every DVD in-order to watch them and that is why I enjoy Netflix. It also provides a few sleepers that I normally wouldn’t buy. It is definitely an addiction and technology has taken over our world. Just like you said, “When is it enough?”.
ReplyDelete