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The Clickbaitification of Netflix

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Re: The Clickbaitification of Netflix

#71

Post by qwertox »

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.e. a newsfeed algorithm that had better engagement.

Sometimes (but rarely) I click on something because I ask myself "Why would these a---- show me this? I want to know more about what's behind it in order to understand what could have made their algorithm chose me as a candidate for this content". Or to check where the scam-URL would lead me to, because this also happens, that ads sold on Google and Facebook are scams, links leading to malware.

Congratulations to them, if they think that this is the kind of engagement which should be valued, that any kind of engagement is a good and healthy engagement. These companies are so rotten and their engineers just don't care.

Re: The Clickbaitification of Netflix

#72

Post by hamburgerwah »

Hollywood, of which netflix used to stand alone but has now been completely assimilated, has ceased making anything of quality in favor of only making things based on the identity politics of the people involved. There hasn't been a good netflix original since orange is the new black and there probably will never be, at least for years to come.

Re: The Clickbaitification of Netflix

#73

Post by sgt »

barneybooroo wrote: post #59
sgt wrote: post #53

Netflix has also become unbearably "woke". I've simply given up on Netflix for that reason but also due to many other reasons like the what is described here.

Is your outrage that they’re commissioning content that reflects a diversity of experience?

They're shoving the agenda down our throats. A lot of shows become overly politicized, with messages of trans rights, BLM, and other stuff being injected to such a degree that it becomes too much and frankly artificial.

I'm not against political and societal messages in TV shows and movies - that has been done for decades, but not if it takes away from the writing and quality of the show. We see that in extreme levels at the moment.

Re: The Clickbaitification of Netflix

#74

Post by dr_dshiv »

tomnipotent wrote: post #32
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…

> The data/engineering/product loops at tech companies favor boosting short-term metrics I think this hits the nail on the head. Leadership is hard, and executives can be many layers removed from the frontline. It seems that A/B tests and family have proven a really effective vehicle to communicate across leadership levels what has happened, why it happened, and the impact it had on the business. I'm definitely guilt…

How might a streaming service be designed to increase user happiness and wellbeing?

From a positive design perspective, could certain streaming features give users a greater sense of purpose or goal accomplishment (e.g., mastering a genre) or help users meaningfully connect to others (e.g., seeing what friends have recommended lately)?

While measuring the effects of a feature on wellbeing outcomes is substantially harder than measuring the effects of a feature on engagement (time spent), it is worth measuring/optimizing in the long run. The hypothesis is that capitalist enterprises that make their users feel happier and more fulfilled will, in the end, be more successful than enterprises that merely provide empty satisfaction. If not, the future could be very bleak.

Re: The Clickbaitification of Netflix

#76

Post by kofejnik »

roystonvassey wrote: post #61
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…

Interesting insights. Online Analytics is now really nuanced - you need to know what metrics are important for * your * business, not just use boilerplate kpis. For instance, an e-commerce website is clearly looking to lead the user to a lot purchase and the more they purchase, it’s good for the business so kpis around sales conversion help and recommenders help your business increase sales. For Netflix though, the u…

They don’t want you to watch obscure shows, they want you to watch the top ones (in your region!) as they are preloaded into your cdn already.

Re: The Clickbaitification of Netflix

#77

Post by nxpnsv »

One day I realized that getting dragged into the bingebait series constantly thrown at me just made me depressed. After canceling the streaming services I feel I'm not missing any of it. Also I read more books now. Whatever makes you happy I guess..

Re: The Clickbaitification of Netflix

#78

Post by gordon_freeman »

Maybe a bit off topic but wanted to share: For anyone who wants to watch classic and top films from across the world, please check out The Criterion Channel[1]. Their collection has movies such as Solaris and other films from Andrei Tarkovsky etc.

[1] https://www.criterionchannel.com

Re: The Clickbaitification of Netflix

#79

Post by arcturus17 »

ggm wrote: post #35

If I search for "streetcar named desire" I want a finder which says "nope, but here's the other work by {Elia Kazan, Tenesee Williams, Marlon Brando, Carl Malden, Jessica Tandy, Kim Hunter} Oddly, I don't want "here's the abortive experimental 1970s film shot in Russia by a drug crazed student also called "streetcar" But.. from Netflix's PoV, its equally likely I did want that because they know I watch e.g. Luis Bune…

I do get a lot results that way on Netflix on failed searches… It doesn’t present only lexically similar results (“streetcar”) but thematically related films (classics, of the same era and related directors or cast)

My main issue with Netflix is that where I live their movie catalog (esp. classics), is very short, seemingly in favor of Netflix’s own produced “shovelware”.

Also, regarding a search for “the office”, how would Netflix know not to recommend the US version if you’re looking for the UK one and vice versa? That’s such a specific nitpick…

Re: The Clickbaitification of Netflix

#80

Post by dasfsi »

i2shar wrote: post #63
pizza234 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Add one more to the list - and this one drives me crazy to no end - on my Chromecast with GTV the wretched thing starts autoplaying even if I just want to read the synopsis. This, despite turning off all autoplay options in my profile. What is the friggin rush?! Why won't you let me browse/read distraction free?!

They might be doing a facebook (~ inflating their engagement metrics by autoplaying things)
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