A group of policemen climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro are documenting the ascent via audioblog. The Climbing Blog is being updated via satellite phone call to an audioblogging service that converts the call to the MP3 format and uploads it automatically to the site. The climb was undertaken under the auspices of a charity called Cops on Top as a memorial to SFPD officer Isaac Espinoza who was shot to death on duty last year.

I got this information from Slashdot, so the /. effect may have kicked in. If the site is down, try again later. When I checked in this morning, though, the site was up and running and all 13 climbers had made it to the summit.

The notion of chronicling an event via audioblog is terrific; communicators should pay attention. Some thoughts that jump to mind include…

• Sports-focused sponsorships, such as a NASCAR race team reporting on its tour. Fans might prefer hearing from the driver and his team over reading their written reports
• On an intranet, a CEO or president could audioblog a road trip to meet with key customers. Again, hearing the boss’s voice would be more compelling than reading a column.
• Any kind of expedition is tailor-made for an audioblog (as the Kilimanjaro climb suggests). Science-based organizations can take advantage of the idea. Why not hear scientists talk as the Deep Impact satellite prepares to crash into the comet Temple 1?