Amazon outdoes Netflix in UX thanks to Fire TV

For people who stream TV shows and movies via Netflix on their TV screens, there is the constant annoyance of searching for a program with the TV remote.

Sure, Netflix algorithms try to anticipate what viewers want, but these algorithms are often incorrect. Thus time and frustration are spent on scrolling and clicking one letter at a time on an alphabet grid.

Yes, that is an innovation that makes people think “Why didn’t Netflix introduce this long ago?” After all, voice activated computers exist. What was the holdup in Netflix’s UX – user experience – engineering?

Bottom line? I just listened to a presentation about UX – and a speaker made the point that everyone in a company has to be committed to constantly improving the user experience. If not, the user experience may get overlooked.

Netflix is facing more and more competition. Wouldn’t it have been smart not to allow Amazon to innovate first on this important aspect of the user experience?

As I have said before, Amazon is the 800-pound gorilla in the room. All companies need to keep their eyes trained on which territory this gorilla will invade next.

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Phyllis Zimbler Miller has an M.B.A. from The Wharton School and is a digital marketer and aspiring data scientist. Learn more on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/phylliszimblermiller She is also the author of fiction and nonfiction books, and she blogs on book-related topics at www.PhyllisZimblerMiller.com