Recently active topics in Netflix

Ideas
1. Data Portability (backup, import / export, re-use)
2. Profile Management (merge or duplicate data)
3. Data Ownership

Netflix needs to implement features to help preserve its customers data and give the customer the ability to move it around as they see fit. This was recently highlighted during the "profile feature eliminated" fiasco.

Data Backup, Import & Export
Currently users cannot backup or export their data (ratings, queue) User data is currently locked inside of Netflix (and fractured between profiles). The data belongs to the customers and customers are generously granting Netflix access to their data. But Netflix treats the data like its their property not the property of their customers.

Since the data is truly the property of the customer, Netflix should enable the customer to backup that data to an open file format (TXT, XML). The ability to export data in a de facto standard format, like the hReview Microformat would enable users to export their data out of Netflix and easily use the data elsewhere (on their blog as HTML or with other services that support hReview).

Profile Management
In the case of the profile fiasco, profile management tools that enable customers to merge or transfer data between profiles would have empowered users to preserve their data. Instead Netflix essentially announced they would delete the customers data.

The import / export feature described above would have allowed customers to not only backup their data, but to also import it into a different account or profile. If Netflix had provided either of these methods, merging the profiles of family members in one account would have made the elimination of the profile feature less of a headache (though not solving the customer service problem).

Data Ownership
The core of this issue is ownership. Customers — users — own their data. Netflix needs to respect that fact. Customers need to demand Netflix enable them to preserve their data, moving it in and out of the Netflix service as they see fit in an open, standardized format that helps customers use their data where eve, when ever and with what service they like.

I have about 500 titles in my Netflix queue, and my movie- and TV-watching moods shift regularly, so I often find myself searching through my entire list for something I'm in the mood for, digging up info on titles I've already researched, and generally wasting time. It would be nice if Netflix allowed its users to privately tag and categorize titles. I might tag The Matrix as science fiction and action, or Cowboy Bebop as anime and science fiction. Then I could log into Netflix every couple of weeks, simply change my current mood, and Netflix could ship me titles from one mood list at a time.

It would be really handy to be able to make comments and notate my queue -- for example, I could type a few keywords to remind me why I added the movie. Queue comments should carry over and be visible after returning the movie (for the same reason, so I can remind myself what the movie was about or why I was intrigued to add it to my queue in the first place, in case I desire to rent it again). This seems like a simple addition that would add a lot of value to the service.