Rosenthal is describing Seinfeld's mid-90s peak, which arrived just as the internet came online. Early online communities picked apart each episode in the week it aired. He is relaying what AOL's chief used to say, not quoting a source directly.
…with master of my domain, master of your domain. After that, we get yada, yada, yada, double dipping, shrinkage, festivus. I mean, on and on. These are all words and phrases that Seinfeld invented. And all this is hitting here as we head into 1994, 1995, right as the internet is coming online.
That's right. According to the book Seinfeldia, which is a great read, there were a bunch of early online communities about Seinfeld.
Analyzing each episode, the week it comes out. It was crazy. Steve Case would talk about head of AOL that AOL's main competition was Seinfeld. They would never see AOL connection numbers dip except when Seinfeld was airing. And then they would go right back up as everybody came on AOL to talk about Seinfeld. And
you know who's talking about stuff on the internet? Urban, well-educated, affluent, young males.
Yeah. I mean, it was the most perfect timing ever that you could imagine for this type of show to have that moment of cultural relevance with the contest, move to the marquee slot on Thursday nights on NBC, and then have the internet hit all in quick succession.
It's amazing. So this is all going really well, but what's going on inside is basically killing the people who are making it. I mean, the obsession that is going into this, the like every word and the writing and the rewriting and this obsession with the joke. Nothing else matters. It is these like…