www.lesswrong.com/posts/aBhMGziEwA7FXNxhq/try-even-if-they-have-you-cold
1 correction found
mailing CDs to people can't possibly be the future!
Netflix's original mail service sent DVDs, not CDs. The company's own history says it delivered its first DVD in 1998 and ran a DVD-by-mail business for 25 years.
Full reasoning
This sentence misidentifies Netflix's original mail-order business. Netflix did not build its early business by mailing CDs; it mailed DVDs.
Netflix's official history page says: "In 1998, we delivered our first DVD." Another official Netflix page about shutting down the legacy disc business describes it as a 25-year DVD operation and thanks members who "waited by the mailbox for a red envelope to arrive."
So the underlying point about Netflix's early physical-media model may be fine, but the specific medium named here is factually wrong: it was DVDs by mail, not CDs.
2 sources
- Thanks for Watching - About Netflix
In 1998, we delivered our first DVD. This morning, we shipped our last.
- Netflix DVD - The Final Season - About Netflix
After an incredible 25 year run, we've decided to wind down DVD.com later this year... To everyone who ever added a DVD to their queue or waited by the mailbox for a red envelope to arrive: thank you.