After losing an astounding 40-50% share value in two months over a botched and wildly-publicized price increase between DVD delivery and live streaming, Netflix just announced plans to split the company into two entities: Netflix (for streaming) and Qwikster (for DVD by mail). In a lengthy post, titled "An Explanation and Some Reflections," on the company's site, co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings explained:

It’s hard for me to write this after over 10 years of mailing DVDs with pride, but we think it is necessary and best: In a few weeks, we will rename our DVD by mail service to “Qwikster”.

We chose the name Qwikster because it refers to quick delivery. We will keep the name “Netflix” for streaming.

Qwikster will be the same website and DVD service that everyone is used to. It is just a new name, and DVD members will go to qwikster.com to access their DVD queues and choose movies.

What does this mean for you? If you use both services, you will need to change your credit card or email address. And if you rate or review a movie on Qwikster, it will not show up on Netflix, and vice-versa. It also makes you might have to search twice if you're looking for a film on either site.

What's more, that the red envelope, which "has always been a source of joy" for Hastings, will remain red but will instead have a Qwikster logo on it.

Hastings went on to say:

Both the Qwikster and Netflix teams will work hard to regain your trust. We know it will not be overnight. Actions speak louder than words. But words help people to understand actions.