23 June 2006

Everyone wants to be a star and these days talent isn't a prerequisite.

Online videos, from the outrageous to the downright hilarious, are the latest rage with attention loving people filming themselves in the privacy of their homes and posting their videos on the Internet before an international audience.

Australian website Gidol, which is essentially a competition for lip synchers, has taken the world by storm. Videos of people lip synching are placed up against each other with popularity judged by the public who vote for their favourite. Winners not only receive prizes for their efforts, but are also inducted into the Gidol Hall of Fame.

The site's founder Ben Petro says videos have come from all corners of the world.

"We've had hundreds of entries come from Germany, The Netherlands, Slovakia, Brazil, New Zealand, England. In the site's current competition we have three Aboriginal children from Perth who are performing Billie Jean by Michael Jackson and they have done an excellent version," he says.

Then there is California-based website YouTube which was founded in February 2005 in order to allow people to watch and share videos. The site has grown to become an online entertainment destination with people watching more than 50 million videos on the site each day.

It's easy to get your fifteen minutes of fame. All you need is a video camera and computer to join the craze. So if you want to show the world what you're made of, get filming. But be prepared for people to laugh at you, not necessarily with you.

Source: A Current Affair