Internet Killed the Video Star (And One of My Hobbies)
It’s amazing how technology has affected small businesses, which, on a personal level, has affected my habits.
I know that sounds like an egregious and more than mildly embarrassing statement of the obvious. But for example, YouTube, Netflix and iTunes have forced me to stop watching movies–something I used to love to do and to do often.
Why?
Because it’s hard to maintain the habit, especially one supporting the random and the little known, when I have no video stores at which to rent such films. They’ve all closed.
Besides, where I valued the spontaneity of just walking in without a plan late Friday or Saturday, I cannot enjoy the forced pre-conception and commitment of ordering movies in advance.
That kind of thinking ahead’s just not as fun.
Yeah… I’ve lamented the effects of the internet on real world browsing locations for years; however in regard to Netflix in particular, I think you can actually download movies to watch from it. So, it’s not *that* much planning ahead. Just some buffer time. Of course, if your internet connection goes down while your movie is being downloaded, that breeds a new species of annoyance.
I can’t say much for the little known, but one thing that can be kindof fun is getting out a copy of A Thousand and One Movies You Must See Before You Die, flipping to a random page, then renting the movie without reading the description, or at least not more than a line or two. It’s like the Sortes Virgiliana, but more fun ;’)
Fun, fun, fun! Thanks Avi! Great points, as usual.