First off, for Mike, if you still can’t hear the white paper, try:
http://podcasting.about.com/library/aboutaudiowhitepaper.mp3

I think Mario also has an excellent point, re: length. My normal mantra in this regard is, “leave them wanting more.” An hour is long. My plan (at some point) is to run the paper in either 10, 6 minute segments or another set of episodes that work when the piece is broken up. I may make it a “phone cast” (to listen to via cellphone) or a separate series.

My logic here was to give people the option to have it all at once if that was their preference. My hope is it would hold enough interest for people to listen to it on a commute to and from work.

Also, to Mario’s point on the introduction, I kept it the length it is to introduce listeners to the paradigm of an Audio White Paper. For future iterations, I’d remove this portion.

That said, I greatly appreciate the feedback and am thrilled to know people are listening/reading the paper. I hope it offers great value and I look forward to making more, of any length!

Best regards,
John C. Havens
About.com Guide to Podcasting (http://podcasting.about.com)
Founder, Podcast Vision and Voice (www.pvandv.com)

Audio is a much easier format to design and publish. With video comes increased filesize and a new dimension to consider, keeping any visual elements relevant and engaging.

With audio, audience members must focus more to content than simply having the ability to scan text, which is awesome! Listen to the power of my message Narration skills are important though, in addition to the length of the article. Important question is, how long can you reasonably maintain interest with audible mediums?

I suspect that for mass consumption, we follow the format that online news agencies like NPR or BBC use:
1) 2-5 minutes for short articles
2) 5-15 minutes for mini-documentaries, longer articles, interviews
3) 10-30 minutes for full documentaries, in depth articles, multiple interviews

The Introductions at the beginnings of the audio files should also reflect the nature of the content. So for
1) short articles - title; company and/or author
2) longer articles - title; company and/or author, VERY short intro including breakdown of subjects to be covered.

What do you think?

I’ve tried 2 different browsers and can’t get thru the link that links to the link that links to the link ….

It is true that sound is powerful. I like the way John did what he did.

Mike

AS long as you continue to edutain the prospects, it’s a natural progression.

Sound/voice is even more powerful than text for the hammering home an important point.