Blockbuster Is Gone But We Will Always Have #BlockbusterMemories

by Samantha Cortez
Posted in Business, Social Media 7 Nov 13
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Image via Flickr/ Josh Smith

On November 6th, Blockbuster announced the decision to close down its last 300 retail stores in the United States, exiting the retail market altogether, and spurring a trending Twitter topic: #blockbustermemories.

Dish Network purchased the video rental company in an auction after it filed for bankruptcy in 2011. “This is not an easy decision, yet consumer demand is clearly moving to digital distribution of video entertainment,” Dish CEO Joseph Clayton said in a press release.

In addition to shutting down the brick-and-mortar stores, the company will also end its by-mail DVD-distribution by January 2014.

Despite our closing of the physical distribution elements of the business, we continue to see value in the Blockbuster brand, and we expect to leverage that brand as we continue to expand our digital offerings,” said Clayton.

Blockbuster will transform into a streaming service for Dish customers.

Now, people are reminiscing about the good ol’ days of Blockbuster. It’s kind of like when Twinkies were about to become extinct, and then people realized how much Twinkies were a part of their culture and salvaged it, only this time, there’s no saving the video store we know and love (or hate).

One blogger wrote a post called “That Time I Got Farted On At Blockbuster: A Memoriam,” where he says that, if it weren’t for Blockbuster, his childhood would have been completely different and he might not have become a writer.

And then there’s Twitter, with its countless #blockbustermemories hashtags.