WASHINGTON (Oct. 1, 2008)—NationalGeographic.com today launches “Everyday Explorers,” a new portal for user-generated video, where budding filmmakers can upload videos, view submissions from other users, leave comments and rate their favorite clips. At http://everydayexplorers.nationalgeographic.com, visitors can post and comment on videos in four National Geographic-themed categories: Wildlife and Pets, Favorite Places, Weather and Green Tips. A number of the best clips are chosen to be the “featured videos” in each category.
“Everyday Explorers” gives video hobbyists and aspiring filmmakers a chance to explore and capture the excitement of the world by uploading their clips for viewing, sharing and critiquing by peers and National Geographic editors. National Geographic is looking for sophistication, stunning visuals and creativity as the foundation for this destination site.
“Everyday Explorers” is highly interactive. Users are able to tag, share, embed and comment on videos. National Geographic will also host video contests in each category. Each “Everyday Explorers” themed page highlights a video of the day, top-rated videos and most popular videos, and certain videos are selected by a National Geographic video editor and featured as one of the few “Editor’s Picks.” Additionally, “Everyday Explorers” links to related professionally created content from elsewhere on the National Geographic Web site.
“‘Everyday Explorers’ gives our passionate fan base a platform to showcase their talents to potentially millions of online viewers,” said Scott Lunt, senior producer for National Geographic Digital Media. “‘Everyday Explorers’ engages our audience members on a personal level and empowers them to share stories and videos that support National Geographic’s mission of inspiring people to care about the planet. Our goal is to display the powerful impact that science and nature have on audiences in a fun, creative way.”
Users can log onto “Everyday Explorers” at http://everydayexplorers.nationalgeographic.com and upload videos. Submissions are judged on specific criteria to determine which will be showcased as “featured videos” on the site. National Geographic does not condone submissions that put the creators in harm’s way or endangers their lives or the lives of others. These submissions will not be showcased.
National Geographic Digital Media (NGDM) is the multimedia division of National Geographic Ventures, the wholly owned, taxable subsidiary of the National Geographic Society, one of the world’s largest educational and scientific nonprofit organizations that works to inspire people to care about the planet. Holding many top industry awards, NGDM publishes NationalGeographic.com; produces short-form video for broadband markets; manages marketing and content partnerships across broadband, mobile, gaming and other consumer digital platforms; and provides video and film footage to commercial, theatrical, educational and other digital footage markets.
NationalGeographic.com is the award-winning Web site of the National Geographic Society, attracting more than 10 million unique visitors a month with its best-in-class multimedia content. On the fastest-growing platform of the 21st century, NationalGeographic.com provides digital consumers with on-demand content, including news, video, photography, maps and award-winning short-form video. NationalGeographic.com’s interactive features cover animals, nature, travel destinations, cultures and world music, extreme weather and environmental forces affecting the environment.