So here's a modest proposal for film rental / streaming companies like LoveFilm and Netflix: why don't you have shareable playlists like Spotify?
You see, I was reading Time Out's 100 Best Horror Films and I thought, there must be loads of these lists out there, on all kinds of criteria, for all kinds of audiences. Why isn't there a button at the end labelled "ADD THESE TO MY LOVEFILM"? There are buttons to tweet it, Like it, add it to Reddit, Dig, and a dozen other aggregation sites, but none that actually serves the purpose of the list: getting these films in front of my eyes!
I don't think it would be a particularly difficult hack to achieve. Do films have ISBN codes? Damned if I know. But online movie encyclopaedia IMDB has an ID for every film going, so you could probably use that. I've used LoveFilm before, and the hardest part was actually remembering which films you wanted to put on your list, now that you were writing it. Wouldn't it be totally rad to say "I'll have what she's having", and one-click add you best friend's "Top 30 Films With Evil Aliens" or "20 Movies That Were Better Than The Book"? Wouldn't it be cool to concoct Top Five lists of genre under the sun, slap them on your preferred social network and share with friends?
There you go, a movie recommendation system at least half as good as the million dollar Netflix Prize. Cheques on a postcard, please.
* I don't use Netflix, so it's entirely possible they do this already.
** I don't think LoveFilm does though.
*** I am 1000% certain people will waste no time telling me in the comments if they do.
- Log in to post comments
Unfortunately, in the US, there is a Federal Law that actually prohibits such things. Netflix is trying to get the law changed, but no luck so far.
Stupid, but there it is...
That's bizarre!