Before you pour your derision on me for the Jerry Maguire title reference, let me explain: I simply thought that a mid-90s mod-techie company name like Qwikster deserved a mid-90s cultural reference.
And here’s another one: @Qwikster had me at hello. Well, maybe at “hello, I’m bored as shyt wanna blaze where’s the bowl at spark me up.”
@Qwikster, real name Jason Castillo, signed in last night to discover that he had just become a whole lot more popular, in a matter of hours. You see, yesterday when Netflix’s Reed Hastings announced that he was splitting up the company and launching the DVD service under a whole new name, Qwikster, people flocked to Twitter to see if the new company had a Twitter account or not.
What they found was that the Twitter handle @Qwikster was in fact taken, but not by anyone at Netflix. The name was property of Mr. Castillo who, among other things, had a profile picture that showed Sesame Street’s Elmo smoking a joint. PR nightmare? Possibly. Funny as hell? Definitely.
Before about 15 hours ago, @Qwikster hadn’t tweeted since August 16th. In fact, he had only tweeted about 19 times total. Before the Netflix announcement on Sunday night, he only had a handful of followers. As it sits right now, @Qwikster is approaching 10,000.
Castillo must have noticed that something was happening – maybe 8,000 notifications going off at the same time in a cacophony of new fame and fortune, who knows? But early yesterday evening he noticed what was going on –
@Qwikster
Jason CastilloDayum over 3120 follower just cuz some ppl wanna buy my handle 3 ppl have asked but idk who to trust
16 hours ago via Twitter for BlackBerry® · powered by @socialditto
@Qwikster
Jason CastilloN I won’t agree till I get a contract n ill negotiate 15 hours ago via Twitter for BlackBerry® · powered by @socialditto
While there’s no proof that he has actually received any offers yet, it’s pretty obvious that he will. Has Netflix contacted him? It’s incredibly hard to believe that Netflix hasn’t noticed this before now.
It looks like @Qwikster has decided to involve his friends in the negotiations –
@Qwikster
Jason CastilloGot offer $1,000. But idk but you guys should follow my bro @SoccerIsLifegc7 n ill think about selling it to who ever supports my bro 15 hours ago via Twitter for BlackBerry® · powered by @socialditto
@Qwikster
Jason CastilloKeep supporting me n my bro @SoccerIsLifegc7. We’ll make interviews happen negotiations ect. Just keep following n we’ll make stuff happen 12 hours ago via Twitter for BlackBerry® · powered by @socialditto
Unfortunately, he has felt pressure to change his amazing Twitter profile picture – now he sports a soccer club crest.
@Qwikster
Jason CastilloDang @netflix got me the follower but the haven’t talked about negotiation or interviews #that‘sSoEmbracing 13 hours ago via Twitter for BlackBerry® · powered by @socialditto
I’ll be anxious to learn Mr. Castillo’s story behind the name “Qwikster.” Basically, I’m amazed that one person on this planet would think to use that name, much less two. I’m sure his reasoning behind the name is better than Hastings’, however. The Netflix CEO said that it refers to the super-fast delivery of DVDs…get it? Quick(Qwik)ster???
From most of the internet buzz so far, the majority of people don’t get it. In the slightest. What do you think?