Why Netflix Has Outlasted Blockbuster!

For years Blockbuster has been the movie rental icon, and everyone would go there to find a movie to watch. After years of being on top they have recently started going out of business because of Netflix. My family has been using Blockbuster for as long as I can remember, but for the past year in a half we have started using Netflix. I live in Olive Branch, Ms and there were three Blockbusters and they have all been recently shut down. I had a membership card for Blockbuster and loved to go there when I had time too. Blockbuster was a great store to go too, but Netflix is so much more convenient. When I would check out a movie at Blockbuster I would have to go to the actual store and find my movie and pay each time, and that would add up to alot of money. New rentals would cost more than other older movies. Also I would only have a certain amount of days to keep my movie. Whereas, when you use Netflix you pay one flat rate, 9.99, a month. Also, you can keep your movie for as long as you need it, and you can watch it as many times as you want. Netflix always has the latest and the newest movies for you to watch and you don't have to pay extra fees for them. You don't need a membership card for Netflix, all you need is an E-mail and a password, and that's how you log in every time after you give your billing information. You can order movies from your house computer and have the movies delivered to you by the next morning. Now with Netflix you can also get movies from your Wii and Xbox live. This means you don't have to leave your house to rent a movie anymore. I love using Netflix being in college because I can watch any movie from my laptop and not have to move or worry about late fees. Blockbuster was great at the time, but with gas prices and the prices of the new movie rentals going up, Netflix is a safer bet and they have a better variety. These are some of the many reasons of how Netflix has outlasted Blockbuster, and Blockbuster has taken its recent losses.

The 10 Most Innovative Web Companies

The web has completely changed how people interact, how business is done and basically the day-to-day life. To be influential in this economy, it is almost imperative to operate an efficient and consumer-friendly website. If you expect to be a top company without a website, you are bound to be missing a large percentage of the market share. These top 10 companies have created websites that have taken off at extraordinary paces and have many other companies following in their footsteps.

1. Twitter

In 2009, when Twitter began, they had around 20 million users and today they have more than 200 million! When the company first began, they were unsure of how they were going to collect money. They allowed users to sign up for free with no extra charges added. When the economy began to take an upturn, Twitter created ads that companies could buy that would cost them around $100,000 to purchase.

2. Google

Google has seemed to stay at the top of their game ever since they entered the web economy. They have been ever expanding ever since creating the Google website with all different things that users can "play" with. With all of these applications that users were freely allowed to use and view, it was also unsure for Google how they were actually going to make their money in the beginning. Google then created AdSense and AdWords for companies to be able to advertise and show up in their search results. In addition, Google also created Google Instant which has a 98% adoption rate. There are approximately 2 million searches a second and 3 billion per day.

3. Zynga

Zynga is the company that created the FarmVille game for Facebook. With their 400 million dollar return from the game, they decided to create CityVille which was released in January. After only a month, CityVille had 100 million users, making it the number one app on Facebook. Presently, the Zynga companies net worth is estimated to be $7 to $9 billion. At the rate that this company is going, they can only see the bright future ahead.

4. Netflix

Netflix began by their mail-in DVD business. In order to block out the competition, Netflix began streaming services in the United States and in Canada. From 2010, it is estimated that Netflix profited approximately $2.2 billion in revenues. Netflix has more than 20 million subscribers which has in turn basically over-run BlockBuster.

5. Foursquare

Defending its competitive position, growing exponentially, and making check-ins a must-use marketing tool for major brands. Astronaut Douglas Wheelock earned the NASA Explorer Badge when he checked in while orbiting the Earth; a story that reflect Foursquare's meteoric rise. The company now hosts around 7.5 million users, a 50% increase from September 2010.

Most significantly, the company has steamed ahead in the face of growing competition from Gowalla, Google Latitude, Loopt, and especially Facebook Places. It launched a brand new version of the service in March, unveiled an innovative merchant platform, and has some half billion check-ins in the last year alone.

6. Tumblr

For turning stray thoughts into big business. The New York based almost Twitter except without the "how many characters you can use" restriction, is drawing around 30,000 new members each day. More impressively, around 4 billion page views per month. In November, it scored between $25 million and $30 million from investors, bringing its total past $40 million.

7. Crimson Hexagon

For developing a revolutionary way to monitor and measure Twitter chatter. Crimson Hexagon began at Harvard's Institute for Quantitative Social Science but has grown into the prime analytics tool for HP, Microsoft, and CNN, which use the website to gauge public perceptions.

The company monitors the Web, tracking and learning the specifics of what people are saying in social media in real-time. Beyond the positive-or-negative analysis of keyword and semantic searches and with as much as 97 percent accuracy.

8. Stocktwits

Created the CNBC of the digital age. On this site, live streams are pulled from Facebook and Twitter; recently acquired service Abnormal Returns culls the best financial news stories from the Internet; weekly Webinars and video market recaps are offered; and StockTwits.tv features original programming around the clock. In other words, StockTwits has become an indispensible real-time financial tool for the social media age. It also boasts more than 300,000 monthly unique hits.

9. Microsoft

Reinvented their search market competition with Bing, the only REAL Google challenger left. Thanks to strategic partnerships with Kayak, Yahoo, Twitter, and Facebook, Bing has begun nipping away at Google's market share and kept competition from becoming a monopoly. Earlier this month, Bing became the second most-popular search engine worldwide.

10. Conaco Productions

Kept Conan relevant long after he was yanked off the air. Even after his unfortunate departure from NBC, Conan O'Brien kept his brand red-hot thanks to a squad of 8 full-time Team Coco Digital staffers running his social media like pros.

The millions of views on YouTube, hundreds of thousands of fans on Facebook, and millions of followers on Twitter. To hype his TBS show's November debut, Conan's team also started a 24-hour live webcast of the production, built fan pages on Flickr and Tumblr and launched a bright orange Conan blimp, which spotters could check into on Foursquare.

Is Prime Appealing Enough to Shutdown Netflix?

There are many Internet-based movie rental and TV series subscriptions available, which have become very popular in the last few years. Many people have noticed the closing of many movie rental stores, like Blockbuster. These closings are due to the more convenient way of receiving and watching movies or TV series; one of the most popular and well-known subscription services that has somewhat directly shut down movie rental stores is Netflix. Just as technology has changed so many things in the past decade, we are now seeing the effect that technology has on movie rentals.

Netflix allows subscribers to view movies and TV shows unlimitedly for $7.99 a month, or around $96 a year. People watch these rentals over the Internet on their TVs with a Play Station 3, Xbox, or Wii gaming system; viewers also have the option of streaming the rental on a computer. Another service that Netflix offers to subscribers is the unlimited rental DVDs that they mail to the subscriber for rental without due dates, and therefore no late fees; this service is $2 extra per month. Blu-ray is available on Netflix. In order to allow potential subscribers to try it before buying it, they allow a free 1-month subscription that entitles each Netflix service to be used.

Amazon has recently put out a product called Prime that allows unlimited, instant streaming of movies and TV shows. It is $79 a year. The videos are capable of being viewed on computers, TVs, Blu-ray players, and many other TVs that are able to connect to the Internet. HD is available for Prime. This membership has other benefits than just movies and TV shows for a cheap price per year; it entitles members to fast 2-day shipping on Amazon products. Prime, like Netflix, entitles potential members to a free 1-month trial.

There is not much of a difference between Netflix and Prime. Both services allow unlimited, instant streaming of movies and TV series, and both require Internet connectivity. The costs are slightly different, with Amazon’s Prime being $17 cheaper per year. It also gives members extra benefits, while Netflix services only include movies and TV series. Netflix has a wider library than Prime does, but both offer new releases, which is a common category of movie rentals. Neither service has commercials or ads in their videos, yet both services provide HD streaming.

An interesting topic is what will be the next big subscription service that beats out Netflix. Will it be Amazon’s Prime? There is much hype about Prime, but is there enough of a difference in it, including its extra benefits, to encourage people to subscribe to Prime instead of the so well known Netflix? And, is Prime appealing enough to draw Netflix subscribers away from Netflix and onto Prime?

Because there is such a small difference in Netflix and Prime, the best way to decide which subscription is right for each individual’s lifestyle is to try out the free trials on each of the services. Some households might not have the correct TV components to work with one service, and therefore the other service would be the right option for them. The movie and TV series may also be slightly different, therefore getting a feel for each of the libraries would be a great way to decide which service is a better personal fit.

Although Amazon’s Prime is not yet appealing enough to take over what Netflix has become, it has high potential to become the next “big thing.” Just as Netflix ended Blockbuster’s business, Prime may be the next Internet-based movie rental subscription that outruns the huge accomplishments of Netflix.

Netflix Streaming FTW!!!!!!!!!

If you read my last post than you surely know of my undying loyalty to all things Netflix, it was pretty obvious if you couldn't see it. And for those of you asking, "How do I get all that streaming goodness onto my 60-inch LED flat screen, and is it difficult to set up?", I can tell you from firsthand experience that its stupidly easy to set up.

There are many devices that are capable of streaming Netflix over the internet, in fact many new televisions have that ability built into their features and don't require an external device at all. But, since there are so many different TV brands, coupled with the fact that I've had no real firsthand experience setting it up that way, I'll just have to stick with what i know. Computers were the original platform used for Netflix and are the easiest way of starting your Netflix experience. Once sign up for an account you're ready to go. Just click away to your hearts content. This is all fine and dandy but who really wants to watch movies slumped over a laptop or a keyboard? What solution has Netflix devised to save us from bad eyesight and aching backs?







That's right, there's live streaming on the current generation of gaming consoles. Those machines that kids and college students spend a majority of their time on are now useful to everyone, including the dog. The Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 are now able to bring High-Def movies straight to your beastly TV. I know, I love it! The experiences on each are a little different however. To enable Netflix on the 360 you have to be a gold subscriber on Xbox Live, which means an additional $7-13 a month on top of your internet and Netflix subscription fees. An additional subscription fee isn't needed on the Playstation 3, but from my own experience the interface seems a bit wonky. I'd go for the Xbox 360 if money isn't an issue, but in all honesty it doesn't take away from the experience once you hit play. You can also use Netflix on your Wii if you want an inferior experience. Nintendo's Wii is only capable of streaming movies in Standard Definition and requires a CD for use. In short, it sucks and should only be used in extreme cases. You've been warned!
And there you have it. You now know that there are many different ways to watch movies on Netflix. Now go my loyal readers and do as I do, watch every terrible looking movie possible and feel good about doing so. A hint though, Frozen is truly terrible and should never be watched, EVER! Unless you feel like breaking your Xbox when it's done.

The Pros vs. Cons of the Apple TV

The Apple TV sold in stores today is not the same as the original Apple TV idea. The original Apple TV has been discontinued and Apple has started selling the black second version. Many people have a distorted idea on what the Apple TV actually is. The Apple is NOT like a TV that you would originally think of. It's a small device about the size of your palm that allows you to do certain things not applicable on a normal television set. The device connects into your TV and you can control what you watch from a remote, MacBook, or iPad. You can rent HD movies, watch Netflix instantly, rent TV shows, and stream photos and music from your computer to your TV.


We'll start with the pros of the Apple TV. One of the pros is its small and sleek design. Tech savvy people are everywhere these days and demanding the "coolest" devices with unique and easy to use designs. The size is small and extremely fast in speed. Another plus regardig the Apple TV is consumer friendly interface. The interface is easy to use and navigate through. Along with the interface, the remote is very simple to use and navigate through the interface. The upgrades of different ports including an HDMI port allow easy connection between the Apple TV device and the newest and latest technology in televisions. The Apple TV streams the data from the Apple TV onto your television set rather quickly and without problems. In addition, it is also cheaper than the mac mini.

Now for the cons of the Apple TV. For one, it has limited capabilities. It cannot play CD's, DVD's, or record programming such as a DVR would do. The different connection cables (for example, the HDMI cord) have to be purchased separately. This cord is basically needed in the attempt to connect the Apple TV with your own television console. In addition, the Apple TV is not compatible with older televisions which may cause a problem for some people. The processor cannot be updated so if there were to be a new version to come out, you would just have to buy the product all over again at a pretty high price, leading to our next point. The Apple TV may seem relatively expensive to some regarding its capabilities. Presently, the Apple TV costs $99. In addition, when streaming from Netflix, the resolution is dependent upon your Wi-Fi connection and therefore data could be lost. Also, the DVD rentals are said to come out the day it's released but that seems not to be the case. At times, it takes up to a month for a new movie to come out. One last negative about the Apple TV is consumers simply do not know about the product. Apple could do a much better job in putting this product into consumer's minds when out purchasing a TV or looking into a Netflix account.

The Apple TV would suit different people in different ways. If your extremely tech savvy and like immediacy and the latest movies and apps, then the Apple TV may still be lacking. On the other hand, if you are a consumer just looking for a "cool" and sleek toy to watch a couple movies and TV shows here-and-there, then this may be the perfect device for you!

How Netflix Saved My Life!

Okay, so the title is a little misleading. Netflix didn't save my life from a cancerous brain tumor, nor did it come swooping down from the sky and catch me before falling to my death. Netflix, however, is my Superman, or Wonder Woman for the sake of keeping this clean.

For years I, like many, was stuck in the never ending stranglehold that Blockbuster had on America. $3.99 to watch some crappy movie that the clerk thought might possibly be good! Are you kidding me? I'd rather dive headfirst into an empty pool. Add the fact that new releases were constantly sold out; I'm forced to watch option number ten, Step Up 2: The Streets. Hey! I'm already at the store. I have to rent something lest I look stupid for walking out empty handed. Don't even get me started on late fees. The topic is such a sore issue I'd probably end up breaking this site.

So, with every ounce of my being I can say, "I HATE BLOCKBUSTER!". The anxiety and stress was killing me. Enter Netflix.

At first I thought it was just a gimmick. Really? What halfwit wants to order movies through the mail and wait 3 days for it to arrive. I'd rather weather the storm and drive the 2 miles to that most unholy of unholy. But wait, are there really no late fees? I don't have to pay for another full rental because I got to the drop box 10 minutes late? I kind of like this, but it still isn't for me.

The instant stream cometh!

The day I created my Netflix account and turned on my Xbox 360 to stream movies might possible have been the greatest day of my life. Well... Okay, top five at least. Every season of Law and Order: SVU is now mine. Thank you instant queue! I could now watch such terrible, yet ohh so enjoyable terror flicks like Gingerdead Man (a Gary Busey classic if there ever was one), without feeling awkward at the checkout line. And best of all, it's practically free! The streaming service allowed me to become open to so many new genres and styles of movies. In the last two years I've probably seen more new movies than in the 20 years before combined. It's actually almost too much, because now all my friends think I'm some movie seeing machine. A title I'm beginning to like by the way.

So thank you Netflix. Thank you for opening my eyes. Thank you for saving my money. Thank you for giving me the strength to finally burn my Blockbuster card in fiery volcano; lets just hope it doesn't come back for revenge. Thank you for taking the pain and anxiety out of movie rental. And Finally, thank you for saving my life. Without you I'd probably be at Blockbuster right now banging my head against the wall waiting for someone to return 127 Hours, causing me irreversible brain damage.