Written by Gabrielle Pruitt
Just in case anyone thought there were not enough ways to watch a movie, Warner Bros. decided to give people yet another option. Facebook and Warner Bros. have joined forces beginning March of this year to offer streaming movies that can be rented on the social network by using Facebook Credits.
For a cost of 30 Facebook Credits, or $3, Facebook users can rent movies straight from the fan page as an application that Warner Bros. created exclusively for Facebook, according to an article on PCWorld.com.
The first movie available was “The Dark Knight” as a test, and Warner Bros. announced more will be offered in the next few months for “rental and purchase.”
An article on the Internet Movie Database website explained the process; an individual can go to a movie’s page on Facebook, rent it for 30 Facebook Credits (found within online games used for buying discounted items within the games) and have 48 hours to complete the purchase and watch the movie.
Thomas Gewecke,president of Warner Bros. Digital Distribution, recognized that millions spend excessive amounts of time on this popular social medium outlet.
“Making our films available through Facebook is a natural extension of our digital distribution efforts,”Gewecke said in a press release. “It gives consumers a simple,convenient way to access and enjoy our films through the world’s largest social network.”
Vice President of Information Systems and Technology/CIO Keith Cronksaid he has noticed the trend of entertainment of all forms being provided “online, on-demand with instant access.” This service allows people to pay for what they want and watch it when they want to watch it. He said he personally likes the idea and enjoys the use of Netflix currently.
Tech representative Chris Ngu said he thought, from a business perspective, it was a smart decision by both companies.
“The already addicting and successful social [medium] Facebook is just going tomake money out of this partnership,” Ngu said. “I think the innovative nature of these two companies is what makes a difference in an already competitive environment.”
Cronk and Ngu both admitted that this new application, should it become popular at Harding, would require “a lot of bandwidth” to operate smoothly, but that would be the case regardless of the provider: Hulu, Netflix or Facebook. If anything, the volume of traffic will affect download rates for everyone but should not be a seriousproblem.
“We are constantlyincreasing the available bandwidth within all the constraints we have,” Cronk said. “Our first priority, though, is to ensure there is enough bandwidth for our academic pursuits.”
For Ngu, who said he has never been a fan of Facebook Credits, it is “a matter of convenience.”
Cronk discussed the way some businesses ,like Facebook, try to offer too many features.
“Often too much business diversity has proven to be notthe best,” Cronk said.
Ngu and Cronk expresseddifferent opinions on the exponential growth of social media.
“Well, I am a geek, and I love technology,” Ngu said. “I’m ready to pay premium on new gadget[s] and try out new technological inventions.”
However, when it comes to social media, Ngu said he feels the whole concept of social media is an invasion of privacy and is becoming intrusive on people’s personal lives.
Cronk said no conclusive results about social media are available yet since the technology is so new; things are “just starting.”
“I just do not think we know yet all the impacts it will have on society as a whole, our personal relationships and so forth,” Cronk said. “I think we need to have a cautious or considered approach to our use.”
