Nat Geo Goes Social- Click here http://bit.ly/muVoPj for full article

Nat Geo Goes Social- Click here http://bit.ly/muVoPj for full article

Nat Geo is been around for a long time, but they're certainly trying to freshen up their image. A while back, they decided to shorten the name from National Geographic to simply Nat Geo. Now they're really stepping into the future with social networking. They've collaborated with Fotopedia to move into the mobile space with an iPad app called Dreams of Burma.

The Dreams of Burma app is the fifth in the line of apps from Fotopedia. It displays more than 1,000 photos from the land of Burma taken by Fotopedia community members. In addition to the discerning eyes of the Fotopedia community, the editor of National Geographic Traveler also curated these photos. Similar to the other four apps, the images have metadata attached so you can view where they were taken and even bring up the Wikipedia entry related to that location. Viewing the location on a map is also an option, with photos taken nearby displayed as well. The previous four apps in this series have been downloaded a total of 3.2 million times, nothing to shake a stick at.

Some people consider National Geographic a traditional company, but these move shows they are out to push boundaries. Moving into the mobile app space is something that modern companies do. Collaborating with a web 2.0 company like Fotopedia is another step forward. Some companies try to stay stuck in time and hope that things work out. Others push forward, finding the limits and pushing them. National Geographic is the latter, a boundary-pusher that isn't afraid to make connections to new media and technology. This doesn't appear to be the end for Nat Geo either. With this partnership, they appear ready to make a bigger push into the new technology space.

Other business owners should take notice of the news about National Geographic. Running a traditional media company doesn't mean you need to be stuck in the past. Pushing boundaries with mobile applications and technology prove Nat Geo is still a force to be reckoned with. Many magazines and newspapers are slowly dying, but Nat Geo appears to be steering away from that fate.