Die Movie Store, Die-->

I pass this Hollywood Video every time I leave my house to take my son to school in the morning. Notice something special? Yes, it's closing. Why? Redbox, Hulu, iTunes, On Demand, Netflix, etc... The business model is dead and/or dying quickly.

I do admit some nostalgia about going to the video store as a kid with my father and wondering if the latest and greatest movie or game would be available. My anticipation would be so deep when I entered the doors of the video store. Many times I would find out that someone else had rented it or that my information was wrong and it wasn't quite out yet. Rarely do I feel the same way about that because why would I?

It costs me a dollar to rent from Redbox and I don't need membership... then if I'm obscenely late I just end up owning the movie. My debit/credit card is my membership so I don't fill out anything or deal with people. Netflix also is a great model... I just pay $x a month and I can get two movies and send them back and get new ones whenever I want. In that model there is no late fees and I can easily manage my account online. Netflix also offers streaming through it's website for many movies so I don't even have to wait on some things. I have an AppleTV so I can just pick what movie I want and the rental downloads and I watch it instantly and it charges me through iTunes. Also, through my cable company I have On Demand where I can just order any movie I want and it's charged to my cable bill. So, other methods are so convenient or cheaper that I never would think of joining a movie store.

As this vestige of the 20th century dies I just want to say "Good riddance!". I'm feel very badly for all those who will lose jobs because of it but as things that made sense in the 20th century die off new things will take their place. It's easier than ever to start your own business with almost no investment. When you fold up your 20th century mindset and start shrugging off that antiquated way of thinking that still holds many of us a wage slave or a slave to old patterns with no seeming logic then you will feel that much better about joining the rest of us in a century of convenience and pragmatic decisions. I will be the first to welcome you!