In another classic rambling morning conversation among the Hersey brothers, they talk a bit about the music that they listen to and of course get a bit dorky with the metadata.
The conversation turns to how sharing any streaming service with one’s family can taint the algorithms, which leads to a tale of how Eric has intentionally used this for his devious trolling purposes.
After the break, Todd confronts Eric on what he is certain is a classic troll job…which of course, Eric denies with fervor. Judge for yourself after listening.
Read The Podcast: Meta, Music, and Trolling Me
There is plenty of meta music talk coming in the future – we need to talk about the case at hand.
The Case of Episode 15: Seasonings
There is no doubt that both Hersey Boys have been caught trolling. Whether it be the month-long hijinks of small little packages sent in the mail (Todd) or Kenobi-Bot (Eric), both are easy targets if someone would like to frame them for their mischievousness.
What is “Seasonings” and Why Does It Matter?
If you haven’t listened to early TodCast episodes, here is your chance. In the early days, Todd would talk into his phone about whatever came to mind. In episode 15, Todd decided to talk about Seasonings.
Not spices – but Beard Season.
This episode has no significance in the grand scheme of everything. Todd didn’t bring in a guest or talk on a hot topic of the day. Yet, this is Todd’s top played podcast.
Because there is no rhyme or reason, Todd blames Eric for the troll-job. Eric denies having any idea why Episode 15 is so popular.
Let’s see if we can solve this mystery.
Episode 15 is Eric’s Fault (Todd’s Position)
When his kid brother dedicates an entire fake eCommerce store to his best friend Justin Benline, Todd has reason to believe that Eric would stir up his friends to have them all just download episode 15. Eric’s track record for such things include:
- Recruiting 10+ friends to record weekly videos for nonsense competitions like DubPoints.
- Following through with very long, pointless actions (sending John Edgar pictures of his mugs every day or trolling with squid and farmer emojis)
- Responding to Robo-texts as Norma.
- Using the wrong address for Todd’s house for nearly a decade (on purpose).
The majority that know Eric would agree that having his friends purposely download one random episode of the TodCast – without alerting Todd has a high probability.
Episode 15 is Being Showcased Somewhere (Eric’s Position)
Although Eric loves the idea that he is behind this chart topping episode, he denies any involvement. Instead, he believes that there are specific keywords located in the description or title that’s causing this drive of traffic.
Eric has argued that if he were going to use any manipulation, he would help drive subscriptions or ratings. For vanity, Eric would likely have his friends download an early episode where he was featured.
Evidence and Arguments
Eric believes that it has something to do with the word “Season”. Since the TodCast is often autocorrected to Podcast and possibly users search for podcast season “x”, maybe an algorithm suggests The TodCast – Seasonings. Better yet, maybe there is a very popular episode 15 on someones podcast (maybe WTF or Joe Rogan) and the TodCast is just eating some of the crumbs left behind by these podcast giants.
Todd argues that if this were the case, wouldn’t the actual episode 91 that’s called Seasons (talking about weather and all) be the top episode. That is a point that is hard to argue.
Unsolved Mystery
We don’t have the resources to check every possible podcast feed or search engine. If you have the answers, please alert us in the comments or send us an email to todd@todcastpodcast.com or eric@todcastpodcast.com.
Podcast Show Notes, References, and Links
This episode has been trolling Todd since September 23rd, 2020.
Listen to Meta, Music, and Trolling Me
