Podiobooks question

[lowky]

while I probably should be asking this at Podiobooks.com...

While making another post here I mentioned that I frequently have trouble with their feeds, and try to get it from the author's own site if available.  I have a question; does subscribing without actually downloading the book from podiobooks still count towards their subscriber base?  I wonder, as by increasing the podiobooks subscribers would bring them more notice from publishers etc, but if the numbers are generated by actual downloads and not subscriptions, then I will download it twice, and just delete one of the two after downloading. 

[SFEley]

while I probably should be asking this at Podiobooks.com...

While making another post here I mentioned that I frequently have trouble with their feeds, and try to get it from the author's own site if available.  I have a question; does subscribing without actually downloading the book from podiobooks still count towards their subscriber base?  I wonder, as by increasing the podiobooks subscribers would bring them more notice from publishers etc, but if the numbers are generated by actual downloads and not subscriptions, then I will download it twice, and just delete one of the two after downloading. 

I'm in touch with their developers and I've been peripherally involved with PB from time to time.  What I can tell you is that they count both -- the number of subscriptions they have and the number of downloads.  They also draw a distinction between "active" and "inactive" subscribers -- if you created an account but haven't downloaded anything in a while, I believe that puts you in the inactive column.  What numbers they use for publicity purposes, I couldn't say.

That said, if you're having trouble with PB's feeds I'd really urge you to let them know, and share this usage information with them.  Evo and Chris and co. care a lot about their product, and feedback like this will help them understand what issues people are having and hopefully work to resolve them.

[lowky]

Thanks for the info I will let them know.  It just seems to go along fine, and then for a period of about 4-5 days none of my podiobook feeds seem to update.  I will say though I doubt I will stop getting feeds direct from the authors.  I enjoy the comments and stuff that they put in each episode, which are stripped from the podiobooks versions, so as to be more like traditional books, and there is nothing date related in them.  I think part of what makes Scott Sigler books so enjoyable for me are all of his rants, etc.  It's like having an author note for each chapter, rather than just at the beginning or end of a novel, and you really see how impassioned they are with what they are writing, and it tends to make me more passionate about it as well YMMV.