AllTrails, the AngelPad and 500 Startups-backed company working to build the most comprehensive database of hiking, biking and camping trails around the world, is announcing a major partnership today with National Geographic. As a part of the deal, the AllTrails website is relaunching this morning with a brand-new redesign built from the ground up, and is co-branded with National Geographic’s logo.
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This would be one of those “once in a lifetime” opportunities. Nikon has announced a contest that will allow an aspiring photographer to go on an exclusive photo excursion with a National Geographic photographer. Apparently they’ll also throw in a D7000 in order to make sure you’re ready to take some great pictures. → Read More
There seems to be a common cycle for many startups. First, you capture users. Then, you capture brands/celebrities. Then you capture revenues. Most startups never make it past step one, let alone steps two and three. The mobile photo sharing service Instagram rocketed past step one in about a week. And then kept going. Now it’s time to explore step two. Which is exactly what they’re doing with their first major brand partnership: National Geographic.
The partnership seems like an obvious one since Instagram is all about great-looking pictures, and National Geographic is known for great-looking pictures. “National Geographic makes a ton of sense as an initial partner – they’re a fantastic company with such a rich visual history. Given that they’re so visually oriented, it’s a no-brainer that we’re going to be trying some interesting stuff out with them over the next few months,” Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom tells us. → Read More
Over the past 120 years, National Geographic Magazine has been one of the most important publications ever printed. From the insightful articles to the brilliant photography, NatGeo has been the benchmark that other magazines compare themselves to. Now, you can own a copy of every single issue without having to build a new addition to your house to store it. → Read More
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Remember when wireless technology was supposed to help us get out of our offices once in a while? What happened to that? Sure, we might not be constrained to our cubicles all day – instead, we carry them around with us. And let’s be honest… We all know a certain blogger who could stand to lose thirty pounds. It’s nice to see that sometimes this wireless stuff lives up to the hype. National Geographic’s TOPO! Explorer gives daring technophiles a chance to create and share their favorite trails using detailed topographic maps provided by USGS. These maps support GPS integration, which makes things easy. Just upload a map to a supported device, head off in the general direction of the trail, and you’re on your way. You can also attach geo-tagged photos to your maps, allowing you to show points of interest (or beauty). And when you’re done you can share you experiences through comments or on the site’s forums. The site has just opened in feature-limited public beta, and hopes to fully launch on May 30th. Unfortunately, GPS integration, which may well be the site’s greatest asset, is not free. Currently National Geographic is charging $25 for the desktop software that enables this feature – a price that, while reasonable, may be the site’s undoing. Hopefully National Geographic will abandon this setup, at least while the site is establishing a user base. Maps are currently pretty sparse, and many people might be turned off by the prospect of paying when there is so little content to be had. With enough users and some support more from the esteemed National Geographic brand, this site has a decent chance at taking off, or at least getting the hardcore outdoorsy niche audience on board. Update: National Geographic has informed us that the desktop application is free, and that the $25 applies to map credits. This page is the source of confusion, and is going to be updated shortly. CrunchBase Information TOPO Explorer Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
Add National Geographic to the growing list of studio going exclusively Blu-ray. Starting with its next release, “Sharkwater,” (that’s the trailer up there) the comapny will ditch its practice of supporting both HD DVD and Blu-ray. It’s only released one such movie so far, “Relentless Enemies,” so it’s not a seismic shift in the landscape or anything. Warner distributes National Geographic releases, so it’s not really surprising that it went Blu-ray. BBC releases are the only ones under the Warner auspices that are still format neutral. We’ll see how long that lasts. National Geographic Makes Move to Blu-ray Exclusivity (UPDATED) [High-Def Digest] → Read More
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