Netflix redeems itself... sort of

Back in July I wrote about Netflix's decision to split the prices and charge separately for instant viewing and delivery by mail. I felt satisfied, as I am sure many other Netflix customers did, when I recently saw an article on the extreme drop in Netflix customers after its announcement on the price changes, which went into effect this month.


Now, Netflix co-founder, Read Hastings, has sent out an apology letter to all members and opened a forum for discussion on a similar blog post. Watch the video announcement at the end of this post. Here's an excerpt:

It is clear from the feedback over the past two months that many members felt we lacked respect and humility in the way we announced the separation of DVD and streaming and the price changes. That was certainly not our intent, and I offer my sincere apology. Let me explain what we are doing.

Turns out, Netflix is renaming its direct mail service Quixster and keeping the name Netflix for streaming.

We realized that streaming and DVD by mail are really becoming two different businesses, with very different cost structures, that need to be marketed differently, and we need to let each grow and operate independently.

Personally, I don't like the new Quickster logo, but I understand their reasoning, branding-wise. They would have been smart to hold off changing prices until the announcement about the new brand, though. It might have saved them a lot of complaints.


The problem remains, however, that people like things simple. Netflix was the original "have movies sent to your home" service, and it was one of the first to offer streaming of movies online. I think a lot of people liked Netflix because it combined the two and made it simple. If Netflix wanted its new branding to work, it would have kept the Netflix name for both streaming and direct mail, but started a new streaming/instant brand and worked that up separately without the Netflix association. Then they could have slowly weaned out the instant on Netflix and referred people to the new brand.


So, while this new announcement and apology has redeemed Netflix in some ways, it has made things worse for them in other ways.


What do you think? Where did Netflix go wrong? Did they have the right idea for all these changes?
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Hollywood Bowl Part 2: How Open Should We Be With Social Media vs. Copyright

My recent troubles with the Hollywood Bowl (which I wrote about yesterday) have led me to wonder how relevant and important copyright rules are these days. They're greatly needed in a lot of ways, but when it comes to allowing photos and video at, say, the Hollywood Bowl, or allowing people to tweet and Facebook from their phones at a performance (like Broadway/L.A. recently did for a performance of Shrek the musical), should we allow it or should we say no no? Or maybe we could just beat them to it?


The way things are so open today, it's probably a good idea to have some leniency. And if you beat the customer to it by providing your own media (i.e. videos, photos, etc), maybe people won't be as inclined to break the rules. So point number 3 from yesterday's post is Get Involved and Be Modern!


There's a similar controversy over whether fans should be able to write fan fiction because fan fiction infringes on copyright.

Thoughts? What is your opinion on the great copyright versus social media "war"?

Lessons from Hollywood Bowl Part 1

On a recent visit to Southern California I decided to go with a friend to the Hollywood Bowl. I was excited because I had never been to the SoCal landmark. I was just as excited to take pictures of the place. One problem: No professional cameras allowed. I don't know why I thought it'd be any different than an indoor concert at... say... the Walt Disney Concert Hall where photography of any kind is not allowed. Maybe I thought it would be OK because it was outdoor.

Turns out, I had to check my camera in with Security. This worried me because I was not sure if I would have enough time after the concert to pick up my camera and get to the park-and-ride bus before it left. I was also irritated because there were plenty of point and shoot and iPhone cameras allowed in that could take just as good of pictures as my SLR depending on how close you are to the stage.

A few take-aways:

1. Make your policies as clear as possible - don't save them for the fine print, and organize them clearly on your website. On this point, the Hollywood Bowl fails.
2. Follow the example of Hollywood Bowl: If you have customers complaining, handle them calmly, refer them to a customer service line, and offer a secure place for them to take their things.
3. Read tomorrow's post for point number 3 on social media and multimedia.

What customer service issues have you had and how have you dealt with them?

The power of words and calls to action

Words have power beyond Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO is about getting people to find you, but in the social media world, they've already found you, and it's up to you to keep them active. Here's an interesting graphic from Copyblogger about the most powerful call to action words. Read the full Copyblogger blog post here.

What are some of your own power words and calls to action?

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The future of web design

Do HTML and CSS have a future? Or are they in decline?

Adobe seems to think web design has a future outside of HTML and CSS. They've developed a new software for web design that allows for all the interactive content without knowledge of HTML. It's created for designers who just want to design without the hassle of working with coding.

Muse, the new software, is being offered for free as long as it is Beta mode.

Do you agree with Adobe?