Netflixed

Netflix is a major force in an industry that had never experienced this kind of disruption—the movie rental business. A startup, Netflix upended the incumbent industry leaders, Blockbuster and Hollywood Video, by inventing two services that were former pipe dreams: video streaming and DVD-by-mail. But Netflix has long been more than just its customers’ favorite gadget. It is also an idea company. Its pursuits of new territory—video games, newspaper delivery, widgets for Facebook subscribers—are already dramatically altering other industries. And they reveal Netflix’s vital role in igniting the power of digital media to completely reshape culture.