netflix versus blockbuster

we used to own a blockbuster monthly plan, and i had never felt the urge to go onto blockbuster.com and surf/rate and pick out movies. i would see a movie preview somewhere, or suddenly remember a movie that i wanted to see, and i'd go on and do a search to add it into our queue. well, we cancelled that plan awhile ago because we weren't using it that much, and we were keeping movies longer than we should have. it was a bit of a waste for the 20 bucks a month that we were paying.

well, we recently decided to hop back onto a monthly plan (since we felt the itch to watch, and the rentals were adding up), but this time, we're trying out netflix. low and behold, i'm addicted. i'm sitting there rating all the movies i've ever seen, clicking deeper into movie descriptions to read each synopsis and watch a preview of the movie instantaneously. I also like to read the reviews by other netflix users, and the professional reviews by the likes of ebert and roeper.

i was convinced that this was a new and exciting development in the internet, and that no one else did this. i told bumble girl, "this is great! how come blockbuster didn't do this?" she was like, "they did." then she proceeded on an hour long rant about how blah blah blah, i never notice details, and blah blah blah, i never listen blah blah blah (i don't really remember at this point, i kind of zoned off here and was watching a Hulk preview).

anyways, being a snobby designer, i think the real reason i didn't notice blockbuster's features was due to its uninteresting and visually unstimulating user interface and design. that's gotta be it, right? netflix has been doing this longer, and it shows. for some reason i felt compelled to rate movies because first of all it was fun, and second of all: i truly believed that their system could then accurately suggest other movies i would like. i just didn't believe that with blockbuster, and certainly did not enjoy surfing through their site. it felt like such a chore.

sure, with blockbuster it was cool to be able to return movies to any store and get another movie instantly, or be able to print out additional free coupons each month in case you didn't want to wait for your other movies to come in the mail. but really, we only took advantage of this like once or twice in the year that we had it.

netflix's plans are also cheaper. also, there is the option at netflix to watch movies and tv shows (that they have -- a limited selection) instantly on your computer. this is really cool when you're bored of surfing, or eat lunch at your desk, or whatever.

conclusion: netflix wins. score one for design! judging from my past decision of virgin america over jet blue, i'd say i sense a theme here. but maybe red is just cooler than blue.