I’m your nerd host, Chris Hardwick
Nerdist is a place where we nerds come together and share the nerdery that we find. It's also my home to various elements of the Nerdist Empire. You might recognize me from TV. You don't realize that's where you know me from, but it is. You think you went to college with me or I look like your cousin's friend, but that is not the case. At one time or another you stumbled upon me on your moving picture box in such cerebral gems as MTV's "Singled Out" and Noam Chomsky's "Shipmates." and so much more...
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Again, guys, putting the name of the candy *as the download file name* sort of kills the whole “It’s a mystery so you must listen!” thing you got goin’ on here.
Again, guys, putting the name of the snack *in the podcast” sort of kills the whole “it’s a mystery so you must listen…for like, 5 minutes, or just skip ahead while streaming” thing you got goiN’ on here.
cure Michael Ian Black exasperated crying noise.
I could explain this to you slowly, using smaller words, but don’t think you really understand what the issue is.
What the hell, I’ve got five minutes.
See, there’s this conceit they’ve got going on for the show, where they don’t show you what the snack of the week is. That’s why there’s a large question mark, instead of the snack, on the main page of the podcast.
The idea is that you need to listen to the podcast to find out what the snack is: this will (so the logic goes) encourage people to listen, rather than just not bother if they have no interest in the snack in question. The idea is that by doing this, even if you have no interest in the snack of the week, you’ll be so enraptured by the two hosts’ light-witted banter that you’ll stick around for the duration.
It’s a pretty good idea! It ensures that more people will download and listen to this podcast than people that might have normally.
But when they put the name of the snack of the week in the file name for the download, they effectively undercut that entire strategy. You can find out (and will find out) what the snack is when you download the file, and be faced with the same decision as earlier (am I interested enough in this snack to listen to the podcast?).
It’s really not that relevant when, or how, the snack is revealed inside the podcast. The mechanism is one that encourages people to listen to *find out what the snack is*, and when you reveal that in the file name of the podcast, you’re sabotaging your own efforts to ensure that people listen to the podcast to find out.
I hope this helps.
That used Bigger words! Idiot!
Seriously, do people listen to the podcast because they’re wondering what the snack is? I’m guessing most people listen to it because they find it entertaining. I don’t really give a shit what the snack is.
Wow people really are listening strictly for the snacks! I personally only listen because of the respect for women! I could care less if the snack is or isn’t in the title! What about the mateys who might like to get said snack ahead of time to eat along.
Yeah if you were a true viewer, you’d realize that Mike and Tom are all about respect for women. The snack game is just what they do.
Greetings from Finland!
Panda is indeed a Finnish brand, Ab is what we write at the end of company names instead of Ltd, and yes we’re all horrible racists up here. It even hurts a bit to listen to a podcast by a fellow with Black in his name, that’s how racist we are.
Love the show anyway, keep up the good work!
Fuck this licorice bullshit.