Dear Netflix: You're doing it wrong

Apparently Netflix has implemented this feature outside the US.<p>Also, it appears the law currently prevents Netflix from integrating the Facebook button as it requires "informed written consent of the consumer given at the time the disclosure is sought."<p>The bill would change this to "informed, written consent (including through an electronic means using the Internet) in a form distinct and separate from any form setting forth other legal or financial obligations of the consumer given at one or both of the following times; (i) the time the disclosure is sought; and (ii) in advance for a set period of time or until consent is withdrawn by such consumer."<p>I think people ought to be able to make these choices for themselves. I realize some people will forget to disable the feature, enable it inadvertently, not understand it, etc. But how is this fundamentally different from Spotify or Last.fm integration?

Dear author of the blog post: you are wrong. Watching is a deeply personal experience and sharing it is the last thing I think about when I go to Netflix. And most people on Facebook/whatever social network are not really your friends. And there is no shortage of ways to communicate with _real_ friends should I want to discuss a movie with them. So let Netflix focus on their core functionality instead of this social nonsense.

<i>Follows link, sees WP-SVBTLE theme</i><p>Uh-oh. Ten bucks says half the comments are about the theme and everyone's opinions of it, the blogger, and svbtle.<p><i>Comments</i><p>Yessss.

Netflix should build their own social network, for the heck of it. I like having different social networks for the various public spheres I participate in, instead of trying to manage 'one social network' for all of the public spheres I interact in.

<i></i>Update regarding the Svbtle theme.<i></i><p>I sent a tweet (<a href="https://twitter.com/lylemckeany/status/253688832501874689" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/lylemckeany/status/253688832501874689</a>) to Dustin early asking about it. He kindly asked me to change my theme and I will in the next couple of days when I can get around to it. I thought/hoped that the Gravity on Mars developer(s) had his permission to create it, but that is definitely not the case.

Off topic, but wow. Wordpress Svbtle? It's actually executed on quite well. I was fooled before noticing the subtle (no pun intended) difference in the Kudos icon shape. I do like the addition of comments, although it doesn't mesh well with the design.<p>That said, I'm not a big fan of stealing someone's design pixel for pixel. It definitely hurts the Svbtle brand when people mistake WP-Svbtle for Svbtle itself. I wonder what Dustin Curtis thinks.

Took me until I saw the Disqus comments at the bottom to realize this blog was not on svbtle.com. The theme is here:<p><a href="http://github.com/gravityonmars/wp-svbtle" rel="nofollow">http://github.com/gravityonmars/wp-svbtle</a><p>From the github readme:<p>&#62; <i>Isn't this unoriginal?</i><p>&#62; Yes, in the same way svbtle is unoriginal. See the original "inspiration" for svbtle. (link: <a href="http://drawar.com/" rel="nofollow">http://drawar.com/</a>)<p>At that, I raise an eyebrow. Yes, dcurtis' svbtle does look like it may have been inspired by drawar, or any other blog theme with a persistent left-hand column. It's certainly not nearly as original as it is simply well-executed.<p>But wp-svbtle copied the style &#38; spacing of svbtle down to just about the pixel-level. Legal or not, it's pretty blatantly ripping-off the brand dcurtis is trying to establish, and that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

So people now rant about features that do not even exist yet? Seriously?<p>It is probably easier for Netflix to ask for authorization for all sharing and then actually have users select what they want to share. No one knows until they build it.

At least they're trying. If Facebook sharing is such a legal clusterfuck pushing more services through the gate at once won't help. I'm sure that if they can get their foot in the door, they'll do everything that the OP described.

A social feature they could adopt from G+ hangouts:<p>You can watch youtube videos while doing group video chat. Anyone on the chat can pause, push a button to speak over the audio, etc. It' great for sharing videos with people and having the "sitting next to you on the couch" feel simulated.<p>For example, I could see myself using a Netflix version of this feature to watch a few episodes of a TV show each week with someone if we'd started watching the series in college while rooming together, but went our separate ways without finishing the series.

This is a good post. Netflix will just become annoying if it posts on my facebook all the time. Not that I'd let them post on my facebook but yea, another discussion.<p><i>Cough</i> Netflix you also need to work on navigation of xbox live with JUST voice commands. I use the Kinect over a controller for a reason - it's faster. But I'd like to be able to read the description of something before I watch it, I'd also enjoy having the option of turning preview play off; it turns on and my Kinect can't hear me!

Netflix did have a social network a few years ago. You could friend people and talk about movies, etc. When it disappeared, I saw people complaining about it but I assumed it was because Netflix was going to integrate Facebook or something.

<i>All Netflix needs to do is incorporate the ubiquitous social sharing buttons</i><p>No! More social buttons is never the answer.

good post here - for anyone who agreed with Lyle and wants to try out my startup's app which does the social sharing "right" (or so we think), try out NextGuide (iPad only right now)