The same act that once took place around the fire in the back of a cave is being revived. The MP3 sound-file format, better known for its usefulness in distributing music. MP3 distributes narrated stories well for the same reason it distributes music well. MP3's quality carries the subtle inflections and intonations of the human voice. Listening to a well-composed story can be deeply engaging.
Every story has different levels of meaning.
A story, by its nature, makes listeners wonder what's going to happen next. The oral traditions of the ancients are being reborn. The portability of the story is the new form's chief difference. MP3 sound files can be readily transferred among the 200 million computers on the Internet. And once a transferred file is received, it can be further carried using the lightweight MP3 players now available.