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the public is a common approach. The same can be said of qualitative studies conducted behind closed doors with select audiences of different demographics to test the appeal of certain products.
In 2012, Netflix went a step further and created
a division to develop original programming.
With several proposals on the table, it decided unanimously to take a chance on one of the most expensive. The project in question was House of Cards with Kevin Spacey and David Fincher on board. This was an adaptation of a British minise- ries (already available on the platform). A signif- icant investment was required (almost USD$4 million per episode). But they were convinced. Big data had allowed them to identify three elements that placed the project in the “proven success” category (Neira, 2015): the original actor, director and series. By monitoring the behavior of its users on the platform, they had already identified a potential audience, with specific characteristics, dimensions and tastes. All Netflix needed now was to use its arsenal of algorithms to connect the series with its target audience.
Conclusions
It is inevitable to think about the long-term influence of systems built on this type of archi- tecture. Many people are already warning about the growing size of the content bubble and
the risk to profitability over the long term. Not to mention the sustainability of an economic system with such narrow margins in a scenario of growing competition. There is also a question directly related to the way in which these sys- tems condition our preferences. Although they do not prevent us from seeing all the available content, they do condition our perception of the offer, based on what they choose to show us and the way they present it: With larger images, under the umbrella of one category or another, or relating it to other content, the result always seems to lean toward what we like. And along the way we forget the importance of negative
experiences in our worldview, what challenges us or what does not comfort us. In this new
era of digital entertainment, the choices are virtually infinite, but that has also made us lazy and conformist. The system watches us to make adjustments. But do we condition the system or does the system condition us?
Bibliography
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THE NETFLIX MODEL’S IMPACT ON CULTURAL CONSUMPTION ON THE SCREEN · ELENA NEIRA
Digital Trends in Culture