The New York Times recently published a piece on the new direct to Netflix hit, House of Cards. The political thriller stars Kevin Spacey and is directed by The Social Network’s David Fincher. The show has become a smash hit and is Netflix’s most streamed content in over forty countries. The key to the shows success is more than a top notch cast and crew, it’s the hints from the big data gathered by Netflix on its users watching habits.
Image courtesy of Netflix
Netflix tracks data on not only which programs you chose to watch but when you pause, rewind or quit watching a program halfway through. This information is compiled to create a perfect concoction of television. This creative use of data collection doesn’t stop there, Netflix targeted different users with different ads for “House of Cards” depending their entertainment choices. The New York Times writes that, “[f]ans of Mr. Spacey saw trailers featuring him, women watching “Thelma and Louise” saw trailers featuring the show’s female characters and serious film buffs saw trailers that reflected Mr. Fincher’s touch.” This next level of complete personalisation depends on the users agreement to share their personal likes and tastes with the search algorithm.
Advertisements geared toward individual users is nothing new. As any GMail user knows ads are targeted toward individual users search history. Netflix users might be unaware of how much data the company is collecting and this affects the users individual experience with the product. In February 2012 the U.S District court charged Netflix that it couldn’t legal hold on to its customers data for over a year. This is according to the Video Privacy Protection Act which was “signed into law in 1988 by then-President Ronald Reagan after a Washington, D.C. newspaper outed Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork’s Blockbuster rental history during his Congressional approval hearings.” The Toronto Star confirms that this ruling also applies to Canadian users.
What does this mean for your digital identity? While your personal viewing history won’t be shared outside of those who have access to your account. The interactions you have with a company like Netflix is molded to your tastes. As this customization becomes more integrated it becomes more important to have a positive digital identity as it changes not only how others see you but how you perceive others.
Do you notice more personalisation in your interactions with products? Do you think it is possible to build the “perfect product”?
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