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Netflix is not a tech company (2019)

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Re: Netflix is not a tech company (2019)

#111

Post by RangerScience »

eldavido wrote: post #93
liuliu wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use Apple TV. Netflix does have better user experience (in terms of playing videos) than Prime Video, HBO Max, Hulu for me. It plays faster, seeks faster, properly does Dolby Vision / HDR when the content has it and has different language subtitles. It animates properly from one screen to another (in stark contrast to Prime Video). The content exploration and navigation is something to be desired, but comparing to…

100% agree. Prime video is garbage through and through. I much, much prefer Netflix. I think Benedict's larger point is correct that I might put up with shitty Prime streaming because I want to watch what's on it. But it's not a delight. No way. And in the long term, that shit matters . The joylessness creeps up on you over time, until eventually you're left with Eclipse, Windows 10, or Android scrolling. Your NPS sc…

I had to put my Tesla in the bodyshop, and the loaner I got was a "nice" Jaguar SUV.

God damn the software was shit. All the "car" part of it was fine (arguably excellent, even) but the rest was just. Ugh.

(four control surfaces to use cruise control?!)

The Tesla dashboard software package is just plain delightful, and that's such a huge part of cars now, it really matters.

Re: Netflix is not a tech company (2019)

#114

Post by onlyrealcuzzo »

netcan wrote: post #110

The "tech company" monicker is increasingly nondescript, but any kind of classification needs context to be useful. These big guys, at present, aren't doing obvious head-2-head competition in well defined market categories. Ford, GM and Toyota are similar to each other that Amazon & Google are not. To think in classifications, you pick your classification based on the aspect of company you care about. Netflix's cultu…

The more important distinction it seems is how much of your sales is marginal profit, how your revenue scales, and the growth potential.

If you have very high fixed costs, but the profit from each additional subscription is ~90%, and you have a clear path to growth - your future profits could be ridiculous.

Netflix is selling non-durable goods with insane marginal profits. In this way, it isn't much different than a software company - like Microsoft in the 90s.

The distinction between whether you are selling software or NFTs, streaming videos, or ads seems less relevant.

Re: Netflix is not a tech company (2019)

#116

Post by AvocadoCake »

Having used Paramount+ recently, it has really made me appreciate Netflix as a tech company, in addition to their FOSS contributions and other innovations. I think it's silly to say that only a company that directly sells tech (whether that be software or hardware) is a tech company.

Re: Netflix is not a tech company (2019)

#117

Post by skohan »

citizenpaul wrote: post #88

This whole thing is pointless. It is basically about clarifying the definition of a financial/MBA term. Where do you draw the line at "tech company" vs some other classification? It only matters if you need to check a box on a portfolio investment diversification. If a company came out with a fully automated oil drilling solution they are a tech company. Tech defined the company even if the majority of their business…

I think the broader point is that this term is getting less and less relevant in general. It would be like if you defined any company that transported goods by rail a “train company”. It would have seemed relevant as a classification when trains were novel, but once it becomes the norm that ceases to be the most relevant characteristic.

Re: Netflix is not a tech company (2019)

#118

Post by auggierose »

bcrosby95 wrote: post #95
chipotle_coyote wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Ultimately any company that makes money is not a tech company because pure technology on its own does not make a business. "X makes money, therefore they are not a tech company" seems rather oversimplified in the same way "X is a tech company" is oversimplified. Actually, it seems oversimplified to the point of maybe not being so useful. I think the way most people would define "tech company," if they were pressed…

Most people wouldn't consider car companies tech companies, but they definitely do R&D and directly sell the technology that results from that inside their cars. Probably because people don't even have a good definition of "tech". Everything we use is tech. Even books. Some of it is old, some of it is new. But people's definition of tech mostly centers around when they were born. As a software developer, I mostly car…

Everybody I know considers a car company a tech company. I think there exists a strange Silicon Valley definition of tech out there. But maybe my German bias shows. I mean, most of the stuff in SV barely qualifies as tech.

Re: Netflix is not a tech company (2019)

#120

Post by hyperpallium2 »

Areading314 wrote: post #3

We should stop thinking in terms of "tech companies" and think of them in terms of "companies that use tech with a high degree of success". Ultimately any company that makes money is not a tech company because pure technology on its own does not make a business. Also, with the right incentives and management it is possible, although hard, for legacy companies to start using tech better to compete.

A 'tech company' is that is internally built of software, so it is (theoretically) as easy to evolve as software - which is not that easy, except compared with anything else. So, amazon, stripe, airbnb, uber, reddit, github etc. Perhaps a bit like when companies started to be built around the new-fangled telephone instead of telegrams and dictated letters. More responsive and free-form.

This does not guarantee a strong competitive opportunity, nor strong execution - but it makes it possible for the benefits of IT to be realized.

Actually, there are several legitimate definitions of 'tech company', this is just a relevant one today that is significant long-term.

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