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Even those who committed horrible crimes seldom gained world-wide notoriety and becoming well-known for something positive was even harder.

Well all that's changed now, and it seems that having direct access to hundreds of millions of people armed with web-browsers and a Net connection has meant that fame and fortune might be just a file-transfer away.

Already we've seen a number of hitherto unknown musicians and groups jump from nowhere to global success as a result of their online presence and I think we'll see this happen increasingly often.

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But even if you're not another budding pop-star there are still plenty of opportunities for you to become a household name.

All you have to do is come up with something outrageous, crazy, interesting or just really different -- then put it on the web and the world will beat a path to your cyberdoor.

The most rapidly growing area of cyber-celeb activity is the short amateur video, being driven largely by the likes of the video iPod and Google video.

Now anyone can knock up some footage and stick it on the web for download. If it's quirky or entertaining enough, not only could you become a cyber-celeb but you could also make a pretty penny or two.

The downside of this is that I'm sure a lot of idiots are going to hurt themselves trying to perform Jackass-type stunts in the hope that it will lead them to fame and fortune.

Right now I'm picking that we'll soon have a cyber-super-celeb appearing from the mire of a million badly crafted videos. The internet audience will soon latch onto charismatic person whose online antics bring them into the spotlight.

This won't be the first time such a thing has happened -- remember the Drudge Report wayback when Clinton was President? US TV channels were clamouring to get this guy on their lineup of news commentators as a result of his online presence. The very same thing will likely happen again.

Could the short video clip be the next entertainment fad?

Will the advent of video-capable mobiles, portable game consoles, PCs, etc be the catalyst to a whole new format for entertainment?

Have you found any short-video gems online that you'd like to share?

Tell us all and see what others have to say in The Aardvark Forums

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