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The Clickbaitification of Netflix

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Re: The Clickbaitification of Netflix

#51

Post by john_minsk »

pizza234 wrote: post #45
keiferski wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the consequence of lack of vision. What is Netflix's long term goal? Ideally, it would be to fund and broadcast fantastic cinema. Yet, I really don't get the impression that contributing to the art form of film is very high up on the metrics chart.

I'm of the opposite opinion. They're executing their vision perfectly. Netflix is very aggressively pursuing the bottom line, and they're not doing it differently from a drug dealer. It's not random that the term "Netflix binge" exists. Netflix interface is designed to shove content at the users' face at all costs, and in a very disrespectful way. Here there are some disgusting dark patterns: - it took them a long ti…

100% agree. I was awaiting for Netflix thread to pop-up to ask (hopefully someone who works there): Why there is no way to tell Netflix that I already watched the show and I'm not planning to rewatch it again any time soon or hide the ones I tried and decided not watch (or may be watched before)? No matter how many times you show me them I'm not going to watch...

You can still have nice features around it: separate list at the end of scroll with my old movies/shows (may be with number of times I watched it?). Once new seasons released send them all the way to to the top etc.

And I will be able to discover something new. At the moment it is cluttered with things I don't want to watch so lately I was not happy with Netflix at all.

You should see such patterns in your data.

Re: The Clickbaitification of Netflix

#52

Post by watwut »

darkwizard42 wrote: post #6

I believe Netflix has talked about thumbnail experimentation at length in some of their engineering blogs [1]. To me, it seems perhaps Netflix has figured out a running theme in the author's viewing habits... perhaps the scandalous, soapy stuff is what they keep clicking. Same kind of reaction I get when a guy friend tells me they keep getting ads for women's bikinis or women's underwear in their Instagram ads. It is…

This is literally author complaint:

> The company seems more brazen in its strategies, more willing to promise something and then absolutely fail to deliver, often using headline tricks familiar from the social web. That’s what clickbait is: luring someone into clicking, and then delivering something other than what the headline made them want. [...] my homepage illustrates The Big Lebowski with a photo of an angry John Goodman pointing a gun, as if the Coen brothers’ comedy is actually some kind of revenge thriller.

Netflix did not figured out how author viewing habits. It is trying to figure out author clicking habits and then disappoints. It misleads author into clicking wrong stuff.

> Following the success of the comically generically titled Money Heist, Netflix recently debuted the new, even more generically titled hit Heist

Because the recommendations are based on superficial but illogical similarity.

Re: The Clickbaitification of Netflix

#54

Post by isoskeles »

darkwizard42 wrote: post #6

I believe Netflix has talked about thumbnail experimentation at length in some of their engineering blogs [1]. To me, it seems perhaps Netflix has figured out a running theme in the author's viewing habits... perhaps the scandalous, soapy stuff is what they keep clicking. Same kind of reaction I get when a guy friend tells me they keep getting ads for women's bikinis or women's underwear in their Instagram ads. It is…

It might be a reflection of my interaction. But I distinctly remember telling Instagram’s Discovery feed to stop showing me sexy women. This would work for a few weeks until the women would eventually come back. I’m not sure if this is an issue of the request (stop showing me X) expiring, or if I lingered too long on some other photo one time, but either way it wasn’t content that I sought out. Instagram kept finding a way to recommend it.

Notably, I kind of liked the Discovery feature when it was showing me relevant and unsexy stuff. But I’ve since deleted Instagram.

Re: The Clickbaitification of Netflix

#55

Post by karmasimida »

keiferski wrote: post #24
personjerry wrote: post #7

I worked at Facebook for some time, and did a bunch of data work. We had this culture of building something, looking at the results between the experiment groups, and then choosing the statistically more successful one -- i.e. a newsfeed algorithm that had better engagement. This sounds great at first, and certainly is straightforward if you want a promotion. But behind the scenes some of us had this thought that our…

This is the consequence of lack of vision. What is Netflix's long term goal? Ideally, it would be to fund and broadcast fantastic cinema. Yet, I really don't get the impression that contributing to the art form of film is very high up on the metrics chart.

> contributing to the art form of film

Has netflix ever committed to this vision? I would be hell bored if Netflix is filled with Oscar-ish films.

One thing to note here is, the tech community is inherently elitist, in a way many envision tech as a tool to doctrine its audience, telling them what is good or bad. I don't find this mindset, either helpful nor necessary.

Recommendation engine is the new soda machine, choices are offered, and you pick what delights you. Ofc you can choose water, but it is not the machine's fault some would like real coke.

Re: The Clickbaitification of Netflix

#56

Post by nsgi »

matheusmoreira wrote: post #3

Would Netflix have to do this if it actually had content people wanted to watch? It's just sad watching it double down on this pulp because every other copyright holder took their ball and went home.

They do, though. They produce a lot of garbage but their best rivals HBO

Re: The Clickbaitification of Netflix

#57

Post by beerandt »

personjerry wrote: post #7

I worked at Facebook for some time, and did a bunch of data work. We had this culture of building something, looking at the results between the experiment groups, and then choosing the statistically more successful one -- i.e. a newsfeed algorithm that had better engagement. This sounds great at first, and certainly is straightforward if you want a promotion. But behind the scenes some of us had this thought that our…

Netflix has somehow conditioned me to expect disappointment in movies with interesting looking cover art, which I now actively ignore, and don't even click through for descriptions anymore.

"Huh, that looks interesting. Not falling for that old trick again! What's that half-off-screen ambiguous cover on the next row down?"

Re: The Clickbaitification of Netflix

#58

Post by ladon86 »

2Gkashmiri wrote: post #26
personjerry wrote: post #7

I worked at Facebook for some time, and did a bunch of data work. We had this culture of building something, looking at the results between the experiment groups, and then choosing the statistically more successful one -- i.e. a newsfeed algorithm that had better engagement. This sounds great at first, and certainly is straightforward if you want a promotion. But behind the scenes some of us had this thought that our…

i do not understand snapchat and their business model. they started out as a sexting app that deletes the photos and that is where it remained for a long time. i remember news of how "deleted snapchat photos can be undeleted" tutorials and i tried to investigate for fun but i could not understand the UI back then and the tutorials didnt work so i dropped it. Apparently its pretty big these days in the kids and they h…

$2.5bn revenue last year.

You've heard of streaks (which were a very early feature), and you've probably heard of Stories too, right? Video ads appear in between Stories video rolls.

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