National Geographic Digital Media Unveils New Immersive Web 2.0 Photography Application -- ’Infinite Photograph’

WEBWIRE – Thursday, April 16, 2009 - New app offers unprecedented interaction with shared online photos; Launching with shots of natural world dubbed ’As Seen on Earth’

WASHINGTON - National Geographic Digital Media (NGDM) today launches Infinite Photograph, a cutting-edge Web 2.0 photography mosaic application that will allow users to interact with shared online photographs by clicking on color patterns to create an infinite array of stunning mosaics in a variety of themes.

Gearing up for Earth Day, the first Infinite Photograph theme debuts April 16 at www.ngm.com/infinite, featuring mosaics created from user-submitted photos of the natural world as part of National Geographic’s My Shot "As Seen on Earth" hub, found at http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/myshot/infinite-photograph/earth.

An Infinite Photograph digital mosaic is composed of 200 to 500 photographs culled from National Geographic’s user-generated My Shot photography database. NGDM will roll out more functionality for Infinite Photograph over the next few months, including features that allow users to select search terms from the entire My Shot database of tagged photos, build Infinite Photographs from their own catalog of digital photography and interact with the program through such social networking sites as Facebook.

"Infinite Photograph taps into avid social media users and photography enthusiasts
in a way no Web technology has done to date" said Rob Covey, NGDM’s senior vice president of content development and design for online material. "National Geographic has long been known as a leader in stunning photography and for its commitment to preserving our planet. Infinite Photograph supports that longstanding identity and simultaneously represents a significant leap forward into using advanced technology to increase engagement with the brand"

National Geographic launched My Shot last year, generating an online destination where viewers can build their own photo-based National Geographic Web page as well as create and share albums, puzzles and games with fellow users. To date, My Shot has garnered more than 50,000 members, who have uploaded more than 250,000 photos featuring images of people and places around the world.