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When I get a scratched disc from Netflix (which has been the case for me in 3 out of the last 4 discs), I typically just watch through the rest of the film, hoping I didn’t miss too much. If the scratch is halfway through the movie it isn’t like I’m going to just stop there, fill out the Netflix scratched disc form, and then finish watching the movie in a couple days.

When you report a scratched disk to Netflix, they give you the following options:

• Send a replacement copy of the same movie.
• Don’t send me anything I’m fine.

The problem, of course, is that I’m not a satisfied customer and sending me the same movie isn’t going to me make me satisfied either.

Seems to me the offer that Netflix makes to people who report scratched disks has little to no value. There’s no reason to report a scratched disk because they’re only going to give you what you already saw but you’ll have to wait a few days. I’ll continue to report scratched disks to them so that other people won’t have the same bad experience I did.

I guess Netflix has successfully outsourced customer service to the customer.

Related articles

• Craig Newmark: “Customer service is public service” (huffingtonpost.com)
• Netflix Fills New Chief Service and DVD Operations Officer Position (readwriteweb.com)
• Netflix Customer Service Wows Me Again (life.firelace.com)

Currently watching a lot of Shaw Brothers and reading two fascinating books. As happens when I do several things at once my brain wants to make associations and synthesize everything into some sort of unified field plan. Read the rest of this entry »

1. Don’t let the marketing fool you. District 9 is an emotionally moving picture.
2. Everything by the Shaw Brothers is like gold.
3. “Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald” is funny even if you’ve never been in a radio show or speak Japanese.
4. I still haven’t found my ideal iPhone netflix app.

Two out of the last three DVDs I got from Netflix were scratched in such a way that a key scene was not watchable.

I went to call them to see what is up. They give you a code on the site to enter on the phone.

Who wants to bet that the code is a primary key between the web analytics cookie and and the phone system. Clever.

My friend Allaire Diamond, who is working on a mobile application wildcrafting mashup that helps people use technology to engage with the environment, got into Wired recently. Enjoy.

I hate to be a downer on the news industry. Especially because I have a lot of friends who work in it. But when people start suggesting that a new technology is going to help the news industry out of the slump, I gotta throw in my two cents. Worse when my point is proved by the people being the New York Times. I’m sure I have some screwups in here so please feel free to correct me via the comments below. Read the rest of this entry »

Video, as a content type, is gaining traction with online marketing for a variety of reasons: inexpensive equipment, cheaper bandwidth and hard drive space, the appearance of several viable dedicated video community sites and the advent of blended search results in Google. So, to put it mildly, lots of people are exploring video at the moment.

If you’re putting talking heads into your video, perhaps getting a video reference for your great work and so on, the following video by Burlington, Vermont’s Bill Simmon will be very useful. In this video Bill covers how to deploy the industry standard 3-point lighting technique to achieve the following:

1. Put enough light on the subject of your video (the person being interviewed) with a “key light.”
2. Use light to keep the subject from blending into the background with a “back light.”
3. Use light to keep the shadows on your subjects face from being too dark and dramatic with a “fill light.”

Bill uses a controlled studio and professional lighting equipment. This is probably beyond the means of most DIY online marketers experimenting with video. However, with a little creativity you should be able to apply the concepts he introduces using your own materials to improve the quality of your videos.

3-Point Lighting Explained! from Bill Simmon on Vimeo.

If you are fortunate enough to live in Burlington, VT and you’re interested in making better video, Vermont Community Access Media (aka VCAM) offers classes regularly. The above video was filmed at one of their classes. How’s that for cable access awesomeness?

Here’s a bonus link: An article about lighting houses.

One of the most fun theater institutions in Burlington, Vermont is the Spielpalast Caberet. A bunch of the town’s dancers, theater people, musicians and so on get together an create a burlesque show of pretty women dancing in very little clothing while an absurdist and random plot weaves through the night.

This isn’t a strip show and is pretty tame by comparisons to other shows that fall into the burlesque revival genre. But you can count on seeing some Bob Fosse inspired dance numbers, hear some unbelievable singing, and expect to be confused and surprised throughout the evening.

Not that you’ll need any help enjoying the show, but if it’s your first time to the Spielpalast here are a few suggestions:

Dress up

Not mandatory but everyone else will be dressed up. And it’s more fun that way. The scene is usally vaguely 1920s-1930s style so if you’ve been looking for an excuse to wear that fedora or flapper dress the time has come.

Arrive early

There’s a cocktail hour ahead of time and actors, actresses and volunteers will be in character from the moment you arrive. Give yourself a little time to relax into the atmosphere. Also, the seating is general admission. All of the seats are good, but in case you really want to sit in the middle or near the aisle or whatever you’ll want to get there in time to get in early. The show is interactive, so if you sit near the aisle prepare to be interacted with.

Bring cash

There will be numerous opportunities for you to buy memorabilia throughout the evening and you’ll want something.

Read the handbill

The background of each of the dancers, the band and players is all in character and worth reading.

Have fun and enjoy this #BTV specialty!

While I was in New York recently I had the opportunity to hang out with my friend Ben. Ben works as an arborist for the city of Brooklyn and is currently working to negotiate sidewalk alterations that will be helpful to older trees which are starting to strain against their concrete boundary. It’s pretty cool stuff. But that’s not what I want to share with you about our conversation.

Ben, who besides speaking for the trees isn’t a Luddite or anything, referred to our current technological existence as the post-wonderment age. It used to be, when you’d be out walking and consider seeing a movie or a band or whatever you’d say something like “I wonder what’s playing at the movie theater.” Now, instead of wondering, we just whip out our post-wonderment devices and beam the information in. This observation got me thinking about how easy it is to access information today (even with my non-phone post-wonderment device: an iPod Touch).

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed. –Albert Einstein

In the absence of knowing something, we imagine multiple realities and possibilities. We can make plans based on whichever variations of these possibilities seem most interesting to us, creating multiple futures. When we lack the time and space to actively wonder about something, I wonder what happens to our ability to innovate and generate new things.