Netflix has finally realized what many other subscription companies have not, that we share our accounts. Families share their Netflix account just as we share our cable service and DVR usage, our iTunes account, our Amazon account, and other subscriptions. And because we share, our viewing habits look like one big aggregated experience, hard to decipher.
Well Netflix has uncovered an easy solution. "In an attempt to fix this, Netflix today begins rolling out profiles, a
free feature that allows any of the company's 37 million subscribers to
create up to five different profiles on one account. Each profile will
be treated like its own account, so recommendations will be more aligned
with a single person's interests." Now a parents more mature interests won't be linked to their children. That means a better, more accurate understanding of each family members' viewing interests.
Amazon should steal this idea ASAP. Not just for their Amazon prime feature but for their other business as well. My wife and I each keep a different Amazon account just so our children who each receive gift cards can know who has what balance. An account for each kid under each of our names. How nice it would be if I could keep separate balances for each child under one master account. And how much better Amazon could be for using this same profile engine to make better recommendations.
So congratulations to Netflix for putting real world application to their subscription model. I'm confident it will be quickly copied.
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