Qwikster, Netflix’s New DVD Service, Not Winning Any Name Awards

UPDATE: @Qwikster responds to his new fame. Imagine a couple – a nice couple that truly loved each other and shared a virtually drama-free relationship. We will call them Bob and Jessica. Now im...
Qwikster, Netflix’s New DVD Service, Not Winning Any Name Awards
Written by Josh Wolford
  • UPDATE: @Qwikster responds to his new fame.

    Imagine a couple – a nice couple that truly loved each other and shared a virtually drama-free relationship. We will call them Bob and Jessica. Now imagine that one day, Bob dropped a bombshell on Jessica. Perhaps, “I slept with you sister,” or something like that.

    What if the Bob returned a few weeks later to apologize – not for the original transgression, but for how he handled the situation. Unfortunately, it just made Jessica more pissed off because Bob announced something new during the apology, something that just added salt to the wound.

    “I’m sorry how I dealt with that whole cheating on you thing. I should’ve handled it better. Oh, and I also sold your car on Craigslist.”

    This overwrought analogy sums up how many feel about Reed Hasting’s announcement yesterday that he will be splitting Netflix’s streaming and DVD services into two distinct entities.

    Of course, all of this stems from Netflix’s decision to break up their streaming and DVD services in July. During his apology for how Netflix handled that controversial price change, Hastings announced the formation of “Qwikster.” Qwikster will now handle the entire DVD service, and the streaming service will operate under the Netflix name.

    Naturally, there are many questions that arise from this decision. For instance, why would they change the name of the DVD service, the part that put them on the map? Why would they split the services, so that they are now disintegrated? Payment info, ratings and queues are now going to be completely separate. Of course, this all becomes less confusing if you believe that Netflix wants to rid itself of some dead weight.

    But for many on the internet today, the big question is this:

    “Qwikster?”

    Yes, the name is an odd choice – especially considering the track record of companies that end in “ster.” Hastings says that the new name refers to “quick delivery.” Twitter seems to think differently –

    “Nap” RT @mbaratz: Companies that end in ‘ster’ end badly: See “Friend,” “Blockbu,” “Dog,” “qwik,” #science 8 hours ago via UberSocial for BlackBerry · powered by @socialditto

    “Qwikster” is Netflix-speak for “oh, just go away already.” 1 hour ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto

    “We chose the name Qwikster because it refers to quick delivery.” Correction: it refers to qwik delivery. 1 hour ago via Twitter for iPhone · powered by @socialditto

    And then there’s this. Man, somebody should totally do that –

    Imagine if @Netflix and Qwikster combined services… unlimited DVD rentals and streaming. Now THAT would be awesome. 57 minutes ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    It also turns out that @Qwikster already exists on Twitter. Unfortunately for Netflix, the account doesn’t belong to anybody associated with Netflix.

    Bored as shyt wanna blaze but at the same time I don’t ugh fuck it where’s the bowl at spark me up lls 88 days ago via Twitter for BlackBerry® · powered by @socialditto

    Don’t bother telling me who my ex is now dating ! Cuzz now I feel bad for the bitch that has my sloppy seconds 🙂 110 days ago via Twitter for BlackBerry® · powered by @socialditto

    Ima about mad as shyt I hit my head wit this wrench at my bros House haha n instead of being concerned he laughs :I wat a bro 142 days ago via Twitter for BlackBerry® · powered by @socialditto

    Nice. I’m sure that the new delivery envelopes will look great with the new Elmo-smoking-a-joint logo. That’s just what the DVD viewing crowd wants to see. For your information, @Qwikster has gained about 200 new followers in the last hour.

    What do you think of the whole Qwikster thing? Let us know in the comments.

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