Netflix Overhauling User Platform, Changing Key Functions

Netflix has grown to such high levels over the past 10 years that it is safe to assume that they have set the standard for all streaming video services that have come after it. But does that mean with all of its research and development that changing key features for the Netflix platform will be adaptable to all users and how they interact with their streaming content?

In a new move by Netflix, the streaming video giant is making a key change to a certain feature that many video streaming consumers have been fond of for nearly a decade. According to a recent report on Entertainment Weekly, the ratings system is a going to get a major overhaul, which could adversely affect the way you use Netflix for streaming video.

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In the past, Netflix has allowed its users to rate a movie or TV show based on a standard star system, which is common among other streaming platforms like Amazon Prime and Vudu. But that seems to be going away now and Netflix appears to be jumping on the Facebook bandwagon that gives its subscribers a simple yes or no option with a Like and Dislike button.

Just consider if you are going to ask yourself whether you liked a movie or not after you streamed it on Netflix? If your answer is yes, then you will be clicking a “thumbs up” button. If your answer is no, then you will be clicking a “thumbs down” button. It really is as simple as that.

This is not something that is original to Netflix. Facebook has had a like button ever since it burst on the social media scene. But there is also the way you like videos on YouTube. YouTube has the same exact function with a like or dislike button to give the video some feedback.

There are both good and bad things about this new feature for the Netflix ratings system. But the first thing that Netflix is trying to accomplish here is to get their subscribers to interact more with the content they are watching. Basically, Netflix wants to know if the content is good or bad for their subscribers, so they have to make it easier for them to get more feedback. Most subscribers watch a movie or a TV show and do nothing else. The star system on Netflix is easy enough to use, but many subscribers do not want to take the time to rate something.

There is also the fact that after you rate a movie on Netflix, you cannot see what the overall rating is after you come back and look at it. Netflix only shows you what you rated it. So that is not a good thing for the star system.

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But there were previously good reasons to look at the star ratings on Netflix. In most cases, the start system lets people know what others thought of the show and allows them to decide whether they want to spend one to two hours of their time watching a title that they might not like.

In the case of the like or dislike ratings system on Netflix, users will only see the real bad or the real good. There will be no in between that gives a title fluctuation between who liked and who did not. This can make or break a title on Netflix, especially if it is new and unheard of.

So what are your thoughts on how Netflix will be replacing the new star ratings system? Do you use the star ratings to decide whether or not to watch a title on Netflix? Would you rather see who liked and disliked it instead? Be sure to let us know in the comments below.

[Featured Image by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]