Tag: Internet

Netflix has too many reality tv shows in 2025.

Netflix is making so many reality shows that it is ruining the platform. While people may claim that Netflix is better than the old cable tv channels, the platform seems destined to be taking up the same content that made people want to leave cable in the first place.

Netflix has spent so much money on these shows that the home page, no matter what choices that you make is filled with Too Hot To Handle and Love is Blind. Not only that, but Netflix has making more country specific reality tv shows and it is only starting to fill the entire platform with more slop which is making the site unusable. A decade ago, Netflix had some original programming but it had a much larger library. There were shows from the studios as well as the small but growing catalog made within Netflix.

Now?

It is like a desert in comparison to Netflix of 10 or 20 years ago.

While Netflix did not have streaming services yet, its online catalog was in the area of around 30,000 to 40,000 movies and tv shows 20 years ago. 10 years later in 2015, the catalog of physical movies included Blu-Rays as well and was around 80,000 to 90,000 movies. The catalog is much smaller now and we can clearly see the results of what that means. It means that Netflix is churning out low quality entertainment(slop) in order to prop up the platform. For now, it is working here as Netflix is now putting ads on its cheapest subscription along with having increasing subscriber counts in countries outside of America.

Netflix’s originals are also taking much longer than in the past to make. Stranger Things has been on Netflix since 2016, yet the show has sporadically been on television. The series came online when Netflix was starting to pump out many more originals to replace the licensed shows that were being taken off the platform by the studios and put on their own streaming services.

Reality TV shows allow Netflix to have predicable seasons just like on old TV channels. However, they are not really shows that have any artistry but are there just to prop up its catalog. They are cheap to make and reliable. However, they are a sign that Netflix has sold its soul out for quick and cheap cash.

Netflix in its earlier years, before the subscriber counts broke over a million, had more movies in its catalog than now. While you had to wait to get a DVD and then later Blu-Rays in the mail, you had choices and wasn’t reliant on their originals.

This is why Netflix was better in the past. Delayed gratification is better than instant gratification. That people are spending minutes scrolling through the menu looking for what they want to watch is a clear sign that Netflix simply wants to keep people on the platform and not accomplish anything of note. There is no grandness to their vision, just profits. Studios of the past cared about profits, but they created stars who were avatars of their respective nations.

What is Netflix now but simply a money scheme for the streaming elites? Is there any sense of care for art or beauty anymore?

Netflix will realize that churning out reality tv show will not help the site in the long run. Another streaming service will come about, and it will create competition. That competition is what Netflix needs to return to its roots and give people choices.

YouTube is past its prime: The lack of categories

It seems that YouTube is continuing to dilute what made the site great among so many users on the internet. In the early days of YouTube, categories used to mean something, now they are largely just a legacy feature which they haven’t removed for some reason. It’s probably because they are sentimental about it. This sentimentality does not seem to integrate well their incessant desire to obsess with putting ads into every part of the site.

Instead of putting ads everywhere, why don’t they try to focus on improving the categories.

However, it seems YouTube is destined to be flooded with tons of ads after spending years letting people upload for free and without fees on the site.

Is Mercari the future of Japanese E-Commerce dominance on the Internet?

Mercari, Japan's Biggest E-Commerce site.

Mercari is a website that offers casual selling for internet users. It was founded in Japan, making it one of those odd Japanese native sites that actually has a presence in America. The site has been struggling to make money in America but I just created an account today and I just listed my first item, a Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones DVD, widescreen; this DVD came in an age when DVDs were important to the revenue stream of movie companies. I have already gotten 10 views after putting it on the site.

The question that I am asking here is this: Is Mercari the future of Japanese E-Commerce dominance?

Japan, being a society driven by the willingness to maintain its traditions was slower to embrace the internet than the United States. The Japanese mentality was to focus more on integrating mobile internet into their daily lives. However, this also meant that Japan was focused on its hardware not the software. This focus on hardware would prove one of the reasons why Japan fell behind in Information Technology while America and China continued to innovate in software engineering.

Mercari is the odd one out and represents something interesting in Japan. This is a Japanese site that has gotten much traction among the public in the country. In America it has been struggling somewhat but based on my interactions with the site, it seems that there is steady number of users who are trying to sell on there.

eBay is already heavily entrenched in the ecommerce market in America. Can Mercari really make a difference and gain a foothold in America.

What I think that Mercari has is the ease of use. Unlike the eBay app, Mercari makes it easy to sell items online. Ebay has entrenched buyers who have been on the site for many years and it makes it tough for someone just starting out to sell on there.

All it takes to list an item is to put in a couple boxes and you have a listing and people are ready to buy it. Ebay is better for power sellers, but it can be very confusing for a generation of users who grew up mostly interacting with the internet on phones not their desktops. Mercari is prefect fit for many Millennials and Gen Z types who simply want a storefront without all the messiness involved with it.

That is why I think in spite of the struggles it has having now, Mercari will probably be successful in at least Japan and then spread out to other countries. It is great that we are now going to get some competition in ecommerce. Competition will make the internet great again.