Omnivorous Surfer

Using wetoku, a web cam, and a microphone, you can interview an expert while wetoku records it. wetoku then makes it available for you to post on a blog, YouTube, or other website. Oh, and wetoku is FREE.

I haven't found a good FREE source for celebrity (business, entertainment, sports, etc.) contact information. You can use the Contact Any Celebrity website for 7 days for $1 (autobilled $29.97/month unless cancelled). A cheaper option would be to purchase the Kindle version of The Celebrity Black Book 2010; the paperback version sells for $97. You don't need a Kindle, as you can download free Kindle software for iPhone or iPod Touch,  PC, or Mac. Of course, many may already have access to contact information to local, nearby university, and state individuals without needing such resources.

Suggestions of successful strategies for contacting celebrities are included in several books by Jordan McAuley and in The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss.

The wetoku website pitches to bloggers, but my focus is naturally on education. I think about a student planning and conducting an interview with an expert on a topic he is investigating, perhaps as part of a senior project as is completed at our local high school. Or interviewing a student in another country, perhaps in a foreign language. I know there are many other possibilities. What a great experience something like this would be, and how seriously the student would approach it. Almost makes me wish I were still teaching so I could use it with students!

A thank you to Jody Britten for making me aware of this website, which was included in a list provided for a training she's conducting for our local school corporation.