Please Don’t Compare RIM to Netflix

I’ve cut my Net­flix sub­scrip­tion just like many oth­ers, but please don’t com­pare Net­flix to RIM. While both com­pa­nies have crashed this week after report­ing results, they’re in two very dif­fer­ent situations.

RIM was an estab­lished play, that got creamed by a new entrant. It’s a well defined mar­ket, and RIM’s not now, nor has ever, been a dis­rup­tor. They saw an oppor­tu­nity, built great devices over a secure email infra­struc­ture, and took the mar­ket. I loved their devices in the very late 90’s and around the turn of the century.

Net­flix on the other hand has been a dis­rup­tor. They killed Block­buster, and now they’re a major player in online video (them­selves being chal­lenged by Hulu). Net­flix is highly inno­v­a­tive, and pro­vide their con­tent on hun­dreds of devices through their API.

Netflix’s chal­lenge is that they’re a dis­rup­tor up against estab­lished media com­pa­nies and infra­struc­ture. Net­flix’ suc­cess redis­trib­utes money, and is too big a chal­lenge to “the way things are”. Net­flix is the Apple of movie and con­tent streaming.

It’s a hard prob­lem. Look at Tivo. Another dar­ling at one point, I’d com­pare them to Apple too. Only, like Net­flix, they failed to exe­cute as well as Apple.

RIM on the other hand, achieved suc­cess then shut down inno­va­tion once they had us locked in. I still don’t under­stand how any­one at RIM thinks their devices have browsers.

RIM was hold­ing us back, and it is time for them to go.

I hope Net­flix has some fight in them still, and I for one am root­ing for them.