Just a head's up... I'm going off topic with this one.
A while back, my wife and I enrolled into Blockbuster's online program - it's a service exactly like Netflix where users are able to create a movie queue online and then for a nominal fee Blockbuster will send rentals in the mail. Surprisingly, we've had a very good experience thus far and I would highly recommend this service.
Some of you are no doubt wondering why we opted to go with Blockbuster and not Netflix. I want to cover this as we seem to get asked this quite a bit. While both options are near identical, Blockbuster won us over with a kick-ass perk that allows subscribers to trade-in their movies at anyone of their thousand stores nationwide. This option especially comes in handy when we receive a movie that we've already seen (but forgot to remove from our list) or when a rental sucks so much that we decide to stop it mid-movie. This reminds me... never, ever, under any circumstance rent "Black Christmas". You're welcome!
Jackie and I are not big movie buffs in any way shape or form, and to be perfectly honest we have very different tastes when it comes to the movies we'd like to rent. She has her picks, I have mine, and somewhere in the middle are the movies that actually make it to our queue. I may not get to see every movie that I want due to our veto agreement, but the more important thing is that each week we get to share in this little bit of quality couch time together... and of course embark on some of my famous homemade popcorn. Yum, yum.
The other night I had an epiphany that I'd like to share with you all - and of course the fine people at Blockbuster - regarding an idea that I believe would not only improve Blockbuster's otherwise flawless system, but would also help them to further stand out from Netflix and their other online competitors while adding a social twist into the mix. And, as everyone and their mother already knows, social media, much like Hulk Hogan did in the late 80's and 90's, is running wild.
Here's my idea:
I'd like to see Blockbuster create a new social media environment that would allow users the ability to connect and share with each other (via a profile) their likes and dislikes pertaining to the movies they've either rented, watched in theaters, or have plans of seeing in the future. In addition, the kick-ass part to this whole idea is that users will then have the ability to "subscribe", "friend", or "follow" one another to the point that when a user recommends a flick (Blockbuster currently has a 5-star rating system) that movie is then automatically added to their follower's movie queue.
Subscription settings could be set for each "friend" and include such options as:
1) only add recommended "5-star" movies to my movie queue.
2) only add recommended "PG-13" rated movies to my movie queue.
3) only add recommended "horror" movies to my movie queue.
4) or any combination of desired stars, ratings, or movie categories.
I think a platform like this would not only be cool from a social stand-point - I mean what a great way to meet like minded people - but it would also be extremely helpful to those people, like my wife and I, who aren't movie buffs and have trouble deciding what to rent. As it is now, I rely mainly on my close friends and the help of @MovieTroll to guide me when it comes to my movie selections, and I think a lot of people do the same.
Labels: ideas, karl-ribas
