If you are an avid hulu user, as I had recently become, you've noticed their massive site overhaul. It's a complete and utter disaster and anyone looking for more specific details on just how the new implementation affects users, needs only to read the comments on their blog (http://blog.hulu.com/2012/08/21/launching-a-new-hulu-a-fresh-look-for-the-shows-you-love/ ) or their Facebook page. I'm sure that this only represents a fraction of the users who are unhappy, as many users won't even bother to comment or won't care enough to find their blog and complain. It took me exactly 11 days to do so and by then I was so annoyed, I had to blog about it here.
What I find particularly amusing is that if you google, "hulu new layout" you will get a bunch of articles and reviews praising the new design and saying how great it is, which would be hilarious if it weren't so pathetic. This is the dirty little secret of the industry. The articles were all written by those employed by hulu or those who have a stake in keeping hulu relevant, like the networks that allow their shows to be streamed through hulu, for example. Nearly every single article or review praising hulu's new design happened to be posted on August 22, one day after the official launch, and the others were posted on the day the new format launched. Coincidence? No, they are actually just disguised press releases, as surely none of the authors really use the site regularly or had taken the time to understand and appreciate the utter fail of the new features and design and how it impacts actual users. They post on a variety of different sites and media outlets, hoping to work up a false positive buzz to hide the actual dissatisfaction and legitimate comments from actual users. They also use these fake articles to placate advertisers and give them a false sense of security (and probably jack-up their ad fees.)
This is a prime example of how little concern and respect companies have
nowadays towards customer service or making customers happy. While I'm
not sure exactly how the new format benefits advertisers, I'm certain
that it does since there can be no other logical explanation for
implementing such a train wreck. Obviously, the user is irrelevant to them since any company reading the comments and taking customer feedback seriously would have immediately reverted to the old layout. Eventually, the site will fail, but it will take a while before advertisers catch on and for many users to find an alternative. When that time comes, hulu will scramble to win back viewers and advertisers, but it will be too late, as people will have found another, better, more user-friendly alternative and be unlikely to switch back to a site that completely dismissed them in the first place. Once you lose advertisers, they don't come back.
Of course, there is always the possibility hulu will come to their senses and revert to the old layout or at the very least, give users the option of reverting to the old layout (impossible), but I'm guessing they don't give their users enough credit for being able to find alternatives. I have several, but I liked using hulu and I liked using it to find new shows or shows that I might not have otherwise watched. Oh well. I am giving them until September 21 to roll back to the old format or I will delete my account (free account that it is) and never return. I will still not watch any shows on hulu in the mean time. Most networks post their own shows on their webpages and of course there is always the reliable torrenting method of obtaining shows (commercial-free, I might add.) I will be choosing those methods until (if) hulu gets its shit together.
