Guy Kawasaki interview: a question for you

January 16, 2009 2:11 pm 12 comments

I’m editing an article that Walter Schwabe (@fusedlogic) has written about Guy Kawasaki. It’s kind of a far reaching article and the 55 minute interview covers a lot of ground.

I’ve done these kinds of long interviews before when I worked as a journalist, and normally the majority is never used in an article.

Considering this is site is far different than a newspaper, it brings up some possibilities. Should I:

  1. Put up the audio & a transcript
  2. Put up the audio & an article
  3. Put up audio, article & transcript
  4. Transcript & article only
  5. Article only
  6. Transcript only
  7. Audio only

What would you prefer? I think it’s a really interesting bit of audio. Is it really worth putting up a transcript? It’s a heck of a lot of work, not that this is the issue, but if nobody would read it, what’s the point?

Given my journalistic background, of course I have a preference for articles. They’re more compact and get to the point.

So, I’m in the middle of editing the article and listening to the audio to see what hidden gems there may be in that Guy Kawasaki interview. It’s quite an interesting conversation that Walter and Guy are having.

Let me know what you’d prefer.

Alain Saffel

  • http://radio-canada.ca/alberta Sylvain Bascaron

    I would be impressed if people read a transcript from a 55 minutes interview! Why don’t you write an article and make 3 categories of audio:

    1. Mix of the best of
    2. Selected gems by category (ex: Kawasaki on The Macintosh way)
    3. And the integral interview for the hardcore fans!

    Good luck!

  • http://radio-canada.ca/alberta Sylvain Bascaron

    I would be impressed if people read a transcript from a 55 minutes interview! Why don’t you write an article and make 3 categories of audio:

    1. Mix of the best of
    2. Selected gems by category (ex: Kawasaki on The Macintosh way)
    3. And the integral interview for the hardcore fans!

    Good luck!

  • http://twitter.com/britl Brittney Le Blanc

    I think the article and a selection of the audio. 55 minutes sounds awesome… in theory. But I fear it is too long for the average reader. I think if they get a long article covering the majority of points and then a 3-10min audio track to listen to, they would be more willing to partake in both.

  • http://twitter.com/britl Brittney Le Blanc

    I think the article and a selection of the audio. 55 minutes sounds awesome… in theory. But I fear it is too long for the average reader. I think if they get a long article covering the majority of points and then a 3-10min audio track to listen to, they would be more willing to partake in both.

  • http://www.twitter.com/dibegin Diane Begin

    Audio + article: If someone wants the full interview they’re not likely to read the full trancript online. Personally I like a quick summary of the key points and when it’s something I’m really interested in I’ll listen to the full clip, because you do get so much more from the uncut dialogue.

  • http://www.twitter.com/dibegin Diane Begin

    Audio + article: If someone wants the full interview they’re not likely to read the full trancript online. Personally I like a quick summary of the key points and when it’s something I’m really interested in I’ll listen to the full clip, because you do get so much more from the uncut dialogue.

  • http://www.ceoguild.com/ Greg Balanko-Dickson

    I say audio and an article with highlights and a timeline like the show notes of a podcast. My 2 cents…

  • http://www.ceoguild.com/ Greg Balanko-Dickson

    I say audio and an article with highlights and a timeline like the show notes of a podcast. My 2 cents…

  • Stephanie

    I agree with Diane: an article to get us started, then the full audio interview. Guy sounds intriguing, and listening to a podcast interview is a good way to really get a feel for someone.

  • Stephanie

    I agree with Diane: an article to get us started, then the full audio interview. Guy sounds intriguing, and listening to a podcast interview is a good way to really get a feel for someone.

  • http://alainsaffel.com/ Alain Saffel

    Thanks for all of your comments. I’ll keep those in mind when I’m reworking the article. I think we’ll have it in three parts and same with the audio.

  • http://alainsaffel.com Alain Saffel

    Thanks for all of your comments. I’ll keep those in mind when I’m reworking the article. I think we’ll have it in three parts and same with the audio.