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History of Netflix
The independent global streaming platform, Netflix, has reached upwards of 214 million people. It's headquarters is located in Los Gatos, California where it lives with its over a hundred thousand titles and more than twice that in its subscribers. What once started out as a quick rental DVD mailing system soon took off to the momentous personalized streaming enterprise known as Netflix.
Birthed from the minds of co founders Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph, Netflix continues to serve as a blueprint for success in entrepreneurship, communication, and media platforms. Hastings background is comprised of his hometown in Boston to as far as South Africa to cofounding Netflix. He was born in Boston and attended school in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He later set out for a career as a Marine Corps Officer when he realized it wasn't for him and decided to go into the Peace Corps to teach math in South Africa. After, he went onto attend Stanford University and earned a master's degree in computer science which landed him a job at a software company (he would later leave to start his own). Randolph's story starts in Chappaqua, N.Y. in April of 1958. Randolph's life became full circle when his billion dollar idea grew from his experience at his first career in the mail-order department of a sheet music company. Hasting's and Randolph met at Pure Software, a start-up company founded by Hastings where the two would carpool to work every day together. Randolph walked away from the company as former CEO to dedicate his time to doing what he loves most: mentoring and investing in other entrepreneurs. *Small shameless plug for my school, High Point University, where Marc Randolph joined as our Entrepreneur in Residence and serves students through mentorships, extensive network, investments in student founded start-ups and tips for successful communication.*
Founded in Santa Cruz County, California in 1997, Hastings says he came up with the idea after receiving a hefty fine for a movie rental that was overdue by six weeks to Blockbuster. Hastings claims he thought to himself why he has to make so many trips just for a movie he rented and if it was even worth it. However, Randolph doesn't credit Hastings to be the sole source for the idea to start the business and the two co founders have gone back and forth deciding who should be credited with what. Randolph is suggested to be the marketing brains whose idea went from diving into the e-commerce industry to build a business that mirrored Amazon.com, to fixating on a new Japanese invention, the DVD. After the two settled on the idea, Netflix took off. With time, Netflix introduced a personalized move suggestions webpage, flat subscription fees, its own productions, brand deals and partnerships with other big tech industry giants, and even a Netflix button placed on remote controls. The subscription-based streaming service proved to be an innovative service that allowed its subscribers to watch their favorite shows, movies, and specials but without any of the tiresome and annoying commercials. They've even deleted the need for internet access with all digital content available to be downloaded and watched from anywhere in the world. 
Netflix revolutionized the way consumers viewed content. Instead of relying on rental services for VHS tapes and relying on scheduled media, users can now forgo their cable bill, sign up to stream content instantly to their devices, and leave times of watching commercials long in the past. This streaming service sparked a movement in America of people cutting the cord on cable to rely solely on streaming-subscription providers. A positive for Netflix aside from their billions in revenue-they sparked competition in the industry.
Netflix can absolutely reinforce a consumers bias through displaying repeated content. The personalized profile feature includes an algorithm designed to 'watch' the users activity on the platform and cater to their likes and dislikes accordingly. Some may believe this to be a complete invasion of their privacy. I'd say to those people-what privacy? Every like, tweet, picture, text, and phone call is already monitored. Netflix is simply trying to make the user experience as efficient and beneficial as they can. Still, Netflix tries to combat this through providing subsections like 'discover' or 'new selections' but isn't as effective as they'd hope.
The ugly truth starts at the beginning of Netflix's creation between co-founders Hastings and Randolph. The two were rumored to grow to hate each other, bicker about who should get the credit and who doesn't deserve the wealth coming their way to the point where Randolph left the company. Netflix is not the exception in media, meaning they all share some dark secrets too. The original idea to mail DVDs as a rental service left a deep mark on the earth's energy resources and increased pollutants by shipping, transporting, and sending back. However, after doing the math to figure out the energy intensity of their operations, Netflix made the transition with the times to impacting the internet and electricity.
How-To
For those who don't know of Netflix, which that's hard to do with the companies annual advertising budget at 2.5 billion USD, let me provide a quick how to of working the system. The first step is to pay a visit to netflix.com/signup webpage linked to Netflix's general website. Next up is to choose the plan that's right for you. Plans start at $9.99 in the basic package to $15.99 per month as the Premium package. The three packages: basic, standard and premium include a variety of perks like viewing on multiple screens at once, 4K quality, and profiles per account. Then, create an account. All it takes is an email address and password. The last step is to enter a payment method that can accomodate the monthly charge upon the date you initially signed up for. After that, you can start to enjoy the limitless movies, short series, comedy special, documentaries and more Netflix has to offer. Enjoy!
The Impact
Of course, without the pairing of the best technologies at the time, the DVD and Websites, Netflix wouldn't have turned into the big success story it is today. The streaming platform is in fact so well known for its ability to catapult unknown actors to overnight viral sensations that "The Netflix Effect" has become a well-known pipedream for undiscovered talent. This ability to do so can thank Netflix's millions of loyal fans who religiously take to the subscription based streaming service for new things to watch. The brand also chooses to produce stand-up shows, series, documentaries, and films using established Hollywood talent from Sandra Bullock to Ryan Reynolds. This method Netflix has of combining talents of all backgrounds has hooked its demographic causing a cascade effect of binge watching, antisocial behavior, and the need for constant content. A timeline of a lifetime has turned into a momentary blip in the vast history of communication in media. As a communications major, I'd like to reflect on the good, the bad, and the downright ugly impact Netflix has made thus far.
The Good
Others saw what Hastings and Randolph did and mirrored the business plan for Netflix. This put a cap on how much Netflix is able to charge and took away their monopoly. Competitors include Hulu, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Peacock, and HBOMax. This industry sparked other indirect competitors to create live streaming platforms like Twitch and the ability to watch live air media like YouTube TV, Apple TV, and Roku. They have also entered the gaming industry with adding Next games at no extra cost to subscribers. Another positive impact is the diversity of ideas and inspiration for creativity Netflix has sparked in their platform and outside with creating The Hardship Fund during COVID-19. Their vast selection also provides cultural representation for minority communities coupled with foreign films/series.
The Bad
Theatres and blockbuster movies have seen a massive economic downturn; proving that Netflix is completely changing the future of movie theatres. Unlimited streaming that's available at any time, anywhere has captivated the younger generation and created a sociocultural phenomenon called 'bingers.' Bingers are those who watch Netflix for hours upon hours and have trouble completing normal daily tasks because their glued to the screen for the majority of the day. This causes a ripple effect of an increase in desirability of social isolation leading to a spike in depression. Those with a slightly smaller addiction in the twenties-to-forties demographic, still finds themselves wasting time watching Netflix or participating in 'Netflix-and-Chill' because of the streaming services instant availability offering a limitless selection of content to consume. Casual viewers may find Netflix to be too pricey for how much they use it and can take to other streaming platforms that are either more affordable to offer programs they're more interested in.
The Ugly
There's also a study published in the Journal of Industrial Ecology, that proves it's actually more efficient to ship DVD two-hundred miles away than it is to drive two-miles to a video store. Another ugly truth of Netflix is that users passwords aren't protected. Much like all technology, privacy is always a risk one must be willing to take. Outside of hackers getting login information (including payment method), there's another party who you might not want to have your password-the Ex. In a relationship, it's common in the US to oddly share one's Netflix password with their significant other and it's deemed as the true symbol of being in an adult relationship. What might seem as an affordable and sweet gesture, has the potential to turn into a nightmare of your Ex partner never logging out of your account. They have the power to delete your account, change personalized settings and alter the algorithm for recommendations, share your subscription information with anyone they'd like to, and essentially mooch off of you until you cancel your Netflix subscription. This creates a whole new layer to toxic relationships, but the user who owns the account does have the option to lose all of their hard work watching endless hours of Netflix to get the algorithm to suggest titles perfect for them and cancel their existing subscription just to create another one and start all over again. Although the algorithm is a powerful tool that reshaped the way people consume media, it can be a dangerous feature. By guiding users to view certain titles, the algorithm guides the beliefs and values of 214 million people. For example, the Netflix show "Squid Games" not only took Japan by storm, but it's influence extended to America, the UK, and most of South America-creating a mass that is more numb to violence and switches the cultural landscape to one that's automated rather than gained through experience.
Changing Communication
Since bringing their business to most of the world, the global streaming service which began in 2016 is now writing the playbook for global entertainment. By providing mass-market programming with local content, Netflix was able to flourish on an international level. This invention changed our world by adapting to the peoples wants and providing. This company started the viral industry of streaming. They've continued to fulfill requests and ideas investors and customers had proposed and with them came extreme success. Netflix has shown that adapting to where the technology is at and then improving on that stage of invention is the key to achievement. Now, we are able to view content instantly, from any device, and for however long we'd like. Netflix solved the problem/issue of having to go out and drive to a Blockbuster to then pay to rent a VHS tape (then later DVD) and drive back to the store when you were done with it-if not you'd pay a hefty fine. First with the DVD mailing system and then the revolutionary streaming idea, Netflix has solved this very problem. Netflix changed communication by making the tech industry even more prominent.
What's Next?
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