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15 January 2008

Culturally diverse, visually stunning

by Jacqueline Alexander

In this era of globalisation, we seem fated to experience another year of political bulletins emerging from all quarters. Not only have we got the seemingly endless run-up to the US presidential elections to contend with, we have micro-politics causing havoc across the world and, closer to home, although we do not have an officially elongated prime ministerial campaign, we all know that Mr Brown, Mr Cameron and whoever the liberal leader is this week, are all making their bid for our vote with ever-increasing intensity.

The internet is already seeing the online ramifications of this with sites such as Barackobama.com rising by over 1600 places through the ranks of most visited sites this week and Hillary Clinton finding herself third in the list of most searched for keywords. Finding political sites is not difficult at the moment but hiding from them is a little trickier.

Ignoring the obvious alternative to descend into the worlds of social networking, gossip or gadgetry, where can you go for high quality, interesting and informative content without a political bias?

There is one publication which, since its inception in 1888, has consistently avoided political commentary in favour of providing coverage of all matters cultural, physical and human. My first introduction to National Geographic was not, as many would assume, in the dentist's waiting room but in the playground. While I was quite happy with my 'Jackie' magazine, the boys had discovered that they could sneak a peak at the female form and, because the publication was perceived as educational, their curiousity was sated without the parental chastisement that would have accompanied other magazines that were, shall we say, out of reach.

Today, whilst many publications have struggled with the transition from offline to online, National Geographic seems to have made the internet its home from home. With a quality of production equalled by its content, this site provides an encyclopaedic guide to the world around us. I have to confess that I can offer only a mere glimpse into the depth and breadth of the information available here; there simply is not the time or space available to provide a full guide, so, with that in mind, I have selected just a few highlights to whet you appetite.

You may remember the impact made by photograph of a young Afghan refugee, a girl with the most soulful, almost hypnotic, green eyes, you have ever seen. She was photographed for the National Geographic way back in 1985. No one knew her name. No one knew where in Afghanistan she had lived and no one knew if she had survived her ordeal. Ignoring these potential stumbling blocks, the magazine went in search of her again almost seventeen years later. Amazingly, their mission proved to be far from impossible when, in 2002, she was found to be safe and well in Tora Bora. Her name is Sharbat Gula and, for only the second time in her life, she was photographed again. The photographs, together with her full story can be found at http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/afghangirl/index.html.

Have you heard of a Toyger? If you haven't, you probably will do by the year 2010. The Toyger is an attempt to breed a 'toy tiger'. It is, or at least is promised to be, a cat that closely resembles its wild counterpart whilst remaining purely in domestic domain. Having crossed her own tabby with a suitable tom imported from India, the breed's creator, Jenny Sugden, has been seeking out the right kitty combinations to create the circular facial markings of the tiger and has introduced the Bengal breed into the gene pool to enlarge the final kitty. Jenny confidently predicts 2010 will be the year of the Toyger although I can't see the Chinese incorporating into its calendar just yet.

Having mentioned the quality of the production of this website, I should point out that this has somehow failed to reach the home page. It doesn't grab you like a home page should but, luckily, you are just a click away from an invitation into the most culturally diverse site on the internet in its full techni-colour glory.

Talking of colour, the National Geographic magazine is famed for the quality of its photography. Not only is this benchmark upheld here on the site, you get to contribute to it. If you consider yourself to be a talented amateur photographer, take a look at 'Your Shot', a gallery playing host to a range of photography as diverse as the content evident throughout the site. Each photograph is given a rating by the many visitors to the gallery but you will have your work cut out if you want to win; I would guess that publication of your image is a victory in itself.

Whilst the content of this site is fascinating, informative and, in some cases, stunning, I can't promise a comfort blanket. You will not be shielded from some harsh realities that challenge our world or the people in it. We are told, in the most forthright terms, that, in just a decade, the rate of ice loss in areas of the Antarctic has accelerated by 75 per cent. We are also exposed to the possible ramifications of this reality. It's not a pretty picture but we already know that, don't we?

If you brave those gory details, just a click away is a series of much prettier pictures; they are intermingled with the dramatic, the impressive and the very strange. With the recent passing of an entire year, you are treated to the photographic highlights from 2007. It's worth a browse and look out for the mummified dinosaur, who elsewhere in the site is enjoying teen sex. But that's another story so I'll leave you to investigate.

Mummified dinosaur
Sharbat Gula
Toyger
National Geographic

Jacqueline Alexander presents Web Watch every Tuesday at 5.45pm on BBC Radio Berkshire on 104.1FM, 104.4FM, 95.4FM, 94.6FM and DAB Digital Radio. To listen in, just visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/berkshire.

What is Web Watch?

Web Watch is broadcast on BBC Radio Berkshire, published in the Henley and South Oxon Standard and published online right here at web-watch.info.

As a cross-media project, Web Watch is designed to help you find the best sites here on the Internet.

You can catch Web Watch on air every Tuesday at 5.45pm when Jacqueline Alexander sits down with Phil Kennedy during the Drivetime show on BBC Radio Berkshire to chew the virtual fat.