Dear Netflix,
I am writing to say THANK YOU. Being able to watch thousands of movies at the mere touch of a button, in the safety, warmth, and convenience of home (or anywhere) is nothing short of magical. You make my life, and the lives of countless millions, so much better. As a gesture of true friendship, I’d like to offer some suggestions as to how you can improve. My husband, an IT guy, has vetted the feasibility of each of the features below, and assures me they are do-able. So please consider implementing them. They’re your DESTINY.
The 7 Fabulous New Features Netflix REALLY Needs to Add:
Number One: Instead of suggesting 15 movies similar to the shitty one I watched for 5 minutes 2 weeks ago before turning it off, how about movies similar to the one I rated 5 stars yesterday?
Number Two: A feature to X out movies that hold no interest whatsoever to me. And do not ever resurrect them again. EVER. Feel free to add a pop-up confirmation before deletion – ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO DELETE THIS? Sometimes I’ve had a glass or two of wine and my finger agility’s not what it used to be, so I might make a mistake. But if it’s a pain to add that, no problem; I’m cool with losing a couple films just to make the crap disappear.
Number Three: Give us the ability to search movies by star rating. I have become such a Netflix snob, I no longer watch anything lower than 4 stars – and even then, almost nothing lower than 4.5. Can we block out movies below a certain standard? Or at least be able to identify and ban from our account anything below a minimal rating. 2 stars. 1 star?! Are you kidding me??!!
Number Four: Similarly, can we opt in/out of entire categories? You could have a page with boxes that you can click to add or eliminate types of movies. Whatever you like or dislike, be it war films, documentaries, horror, you name it, just click and POOF! it’s either in or out. This would be particularly helpful when viewing with children or adults upset by certain types of films.
Number Five: I can get this feature on my iPhone when I view Netflix, but how about putting it on the TV where I do most of my viewing? When you click on a movie, offer suggestions of similar movies below. If you like “such and such,” here’s something analogous, that kind of thing. Similarly, if you do a search for a specific film, offer related movies as well.
Number Six: How about a privacy feature? Some of us might explore more movie options or categories were we able to do so PRIVATELY. For instance, I’ve been dying to watch the TV series Frisky Business, which seems both educational as well as engaging, but I simply can’t for fear of what my teen/tween daughters will say. DID YOU SEE WHAT MOM’S WATCHING?? Dildos r’ us!!! EWWWWWWWWWWWW. (*Hangs head in shame*)
And lastly..
Number Seven: A request movies feature, where you can ask for movies not currently available for online streaming -or- upcoming films not yet released to the public. Netflix could tally votes and decide what’s worth showing.
*******
So, Netflix, that’s it for now. As your loving friend, one who truly cares and wants the very best for both of us, please consider implementing at least some of the features, particularly 1, 2, 4, and 6. Thanks in advance, buddy!
Love,
I can only hope they read your blog!! Perfect . . .
Thanks Katie! Me TOO! 😉
TWO THUMBS WAY UP
YESSSS
Heheh.. thanks babe!
I’d like to add a comment on Netflix’s habit of listing movies that are years past their original release date or not yet released and stringing you along for extended periods (months or years) and summarily deleting them from your queue in one large block after you have patiently waited for lo-o-o-ong periods of time. THIS DRIVES ME UP THE WALL!!! I have spent my time ” in the barrel” …1155 tiitles watched so I am qualified as a legitimate NETFLIX junkie to complain bitterly over this.
Excellent point, Thomas! Thanks for sharing (and I’m so sorry for your pain).
One other feature I’d like is an option for skipping opening titles – helpful when you are binge-watching and don’t really need to hear that theme song you’ve just heard four times that night already.
Amen. Some shows seem to do this automatically if you simply hit the next episode button (w out going back to the screen) or allow it to automatically start. But some don’t. I wonder if it’s something w Netflix or the shows themselves. Puzzling.
Thanks for the suggestion, Mike! Good one.
An addendum to No. 2. in case of accidental deletion. When searching for a specific film, it would appear in the results and could be added back to the account or simply watched. Thought of that this morning!
A more intuitive search would be nice. For example, if I wanted to watch a certain vampire movie, but I can’t remember the title, so I type in “vampire” in the search, but the movie I’m looking for doesn’t come up, because “vampire” isn’t in the title. =|
Heyya Spidey! Long time, no webs! Hope all is well. 🙂
Good point about the search. I have had success looking up things like “British comedy” or countries themselves “Swedish” or “Sweden” or “Norway.” Seems a shame you can’t make it work for topics like vampires, too.
ATTENTION!
I am THRILLED to note that Mike Pop above tweeted a link to this post to the Director of Playback Services at Netflix who responded:
@mikepop Thx – 2 and 6 exist on website, search “netflix private mode” for info. 5 exists on some tv platforms (like appletv).
I was able to log into my account earlier and through the “Taste Preferences” feature, select/nix all sorts of categories (we’re talking pages and pages of stuff). I can’t wait to see what is offered to me tonight!
I did a Google search for the privacy option and all I could find were articles saying it’s in the experimental test phase. I wasn’t able to find any links to or info about it on the Netflix site itself. If anyone knows more about that, I’d love the info.
Huge thanks to Mike Pop! And to the Director of Playback Services at Netflix! Much obliged :))
What I need is for the option to make the children’s profile OPT IN for TV shows. I do not want to have to tell my child “no” a million times for every stupid thing he sees; we are watching “Daniel Tiger”, we are watching “Magic School Bus”, we are even watching “Thomas The Tank Engine” and some “Peg and Cat”. We are NOT watching All The Things whenever he feels like it. Ugh.
Ugh. Feeling your pain, Hayden – I remember this struggle too. Maybe in D’s case you could simply unplug the set.. but knowing you, he’s probably so bright he’d just go plug it back in!! heheh
XO