Netflix

The origin of Netflix was a long and hard road. It all started when two employees, Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph, were about to be laid off due to a merger. These two carpooled together and dreamed of making the next Amazon. They tried all sorts of things, from personalized dog food, shampoo, surfboards, and customizable baseball bats to building an e-commerce website. Next, they tried selling VHS tapes but realized that couldn't happen because of the size of the tapes and how fragile they were. Finally, due to the rise in DVDs, they created Netflix, a company derived from a play on the words "net" from the internet and "flix" from a flick or movie.

Netflix launched in 1997 as an online DVD rental site, where people went online to order a movie and a few days later received a DVD in the mail. However, Netflix's most significant change would happen in 1999, two years after the launch, with a subscriber-based model. This new model allowed people to rent unlimited movies for one monthly price. At the time, a subscriber-based model was unheard of and truly changed the way viewers consumed media. Then, in 2000, Netflix added another feature that gave each account user personalized movie recommendations based on other people's ratings.

Netflix went public in 2002, and it was only $15 a share. Today, as of March 28, 2022, that share is $378.54. In 2003, Netflix hit one million subscribers. Over the next three years, it kept growing and hit five million subscribers. In 2007, Netflix changed the way we consume media again by introducing a streaming service. Through this service, people can sit at home and watch movies without ordering a CD. Netflix's next step was to go abroad, adding Canada in 2010, and by 2016, it would be in more than 190 countries and territories. In addition, it would be available in 21 different languages. Today, Netflix is the powerhouse of streaming with hit shows like Tiger King, Squid Game, and The Queen's Gambit.

Through its ever-evolving model, Netflix's effect on the world has been significant, with the subscriber base and streaming service being the most significant game-changers. These changes have created opportunities for other companies to follow this success, with companies like Apple making Apple TV, Amazon making Prime Video, and Disney making Disney+. This media consumption only multiplied with COVID-19, where these companies excelled due to how easy it is for someone to watch thousands of movies without leaving their house. Another outcome of this surge is the "Netflix Effect," where people sit down and lose track of time watching too much Netflix. With its long catalog of listings, viewers binge-watch or watch many hours of a show to finish it. This ability to stream directing into the home has led to people spending more time watching shows and being entertained by the media industry.

Netflix is a company all about risk. It took the gamble to start a company that would compete against Blockbusters when Blockbuster was the go-to place for movies. Likewise, it would take a risk with a subscriber-based model, but because Netflix is willing to take risks, it has succeeded and will continue to succeed.

8 Values of Free Expression

    Cogito ergo sums better translates as Rene Descartes "I think therefore I am." This simple line, I feel, goes hand in hand with the most important value of free expression, individual self-fulfillment. Descartes means by the line "I think therefore I am" because he knows that he exists because he thinks, but he can't be a hundred percent sure if others around him exist. The way I have always interrupted. This was that we as individuals need to work on ourselves before we can work on others. This line is similar to self-fulfillment due to them both being about the individuals developing themself because, at the end of the day, they only have full control of themself. I don't know if I trust my senses because they can be tricked. I don't know if I'm in a dream, but I know I am me. Therefore, I exist; therefore, I matter, I can make opinions, and I can find out who I am.

    Self-fulfillment is the most important to me be because it is the one thing you control, yourself. The freedom to define yourself and create your own identity matters because if you can't define yourself, then you will never achieve your true potential and never become who you truly are. We are people. We have our own ideas and beliefs. When we lose that, we lose ourselves. When we lose ourselves, we lose our purpose and reason to fight for what's right.

Today, people are so different even if two twins are raised in the same place, and at the same time, they would both have two completely different ideas, dreams, and beliefs. These changes and differences make us human and make us who we are. We are whatever we define ourselves as through actions and words. When the freedom to express ourselves is censored, our expressions are silenced. Opinions matter because of the many different views that are offered. The market of ideas can grow and work in the modern world, and it starts with you discovering who you are. We can't participate in self-government if we don't know what we as people want. We can't have stable change because venting expresses people's values, which can clash with events or other matters. Tolerance is all about differences. If people cannot say what makes them different and express opinions, then tolerance does not exist. Innovation starts with creativity through expression and discovery. Without expressing ideas and explaining ideas, innovation can't truly be achieved.

  

 

We as people start as individuals, and then we seek to find a group to match our beliefs. An example is with political parties. Most people develop their beliefs over time and through experience and events in their life. The combination of all these different things leads people to look and yearn for a group that can match similar ideas and beliefs. This led to people joining political parties to match their ideas. If a person never has the freedom to discover and voice their own self, they will find themself so when trying to find like-minded people they will look and might never find a group or worse join a wrong group with the wrong people who will lead to more problems. Opinions matter because of these different opinions. The market of ideas can grow and work in the modern world, and it starts with you discovering who you are. It is only when we discover who and what we are as individuals can we seek to find our place in the world around us because it starts with us, and it starts with you finding you.

Supreme Court

When thinking about the three branches of government, the legislative, executive, and judicial. The balance today seems perfected and fair, and it is hard to think there was a time when the balance achieved today was not the case. It took a change and the hard work of one man who would level the playing field and allow for the judicial branch to be seen as equal with one case and one idea.

Marbury v. Madison was a landmark case because it would bring the idea of judicial review, which would make it, so the judicial court had the power to strike down an act of congress due to it being unconstitutional. This was achieved due to John Marshal, a young lawyer who was the Chief Justice during the case of Marbury v. Madison. Because of Marshal, the court gained more power and started to balance its power with the other sides of the government branches. 

This balance of power is due to John Marshal's made so that the Justices in the Supreme matter. Each Justice has their own ideas, opinions, and values. Their own beliefs may be different than other Justices, but they still have to work together to make sure their judgment is fair and, most importantly constitutional. The ideas and judgment of the Supreme court have affected people with them expanding liberties and amending the Constitution to better fit the time we are in and the future to come.

Freedom is something we as humans want to have but it takes hard work. It takes the work of government, people, and ideas. Today freedom is there but it's being put into question due to people trying to establish safety and this can and will become a problem because security could mean we lose freedom but it is up to us to protect it.

My Top 5 Source of News

How you stay informed about the world around us is more than just turning something on. It is about where you get your information today with so many different voices. So the question becomes which voice is credible and how do you make your own decisions with two sides, the right and the left, competing with different information. Here are my choices for news.

BBC

The BBC or the British Broadcasting Corporation is a British government-funded organization. This is my favorite place for news because it kinda boring with it just being about the news. The BBC is known for being well credit due to its long-standing reporting within Europe and has expanded with a US reporting over time. My favorite thing about the BBC is that the BBC is very moderate, but every so often, it leans left, which is important to understand when reading it. The BBC is also global, so the focus is on more than just the USA but the whole world.

Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal is also very similar to the BBC because it kinda boring because it really is just about informing people and telling just the news. This is good because the Wall Street Journal is kind of a healthy balance of both left and right ideas. This is, in my opinion, the best place for facts because it allows you, the audience, to understand why and how things are how they are. This news option is mainly based in the USA and is a great place for knowing and understanding American items and ideas.

Bloomberg Business news

One of my teachers in the past told the iconic line of "follow the money." Bloomberg new is all about the economics behind the issue of why things happen. It is also very boring most times with I just explain the benefits and negatives of current events and their effect on the economy. Bloomberg is also very unbiased with most of its reports because it gives just what's happening in the market.

The Clash of news in the USA

CNN

CNN or the cable news network is very much a left-leaning source, so it is important to understand where it comes from. It is a great place to hear about how the left side of news leans with CNN. It provides facts that support its own argument. This can be problematic due to it relying on trying to convince you as the audience to agree with them. This news is also made to be exciting. It made it get clicked and draw you like the view into their network of stories.

Fox News

Fox News is very much a right-leaning source. It the kind of the opposite of CNN with the two sides clashing. It is also similar to the model that CNN provides with every click they make money, so they make items that draw you, the viewer, into the news and want to come back to learn more about the  "breaking news." Fox News provides the best understanding of the rights ideas and where the right plan and think about topics in the world. It also does a similar thing with CNN, with it shows the fact that supports its side.