by Currie Jean

Created on: June 08, 2008

Youtube presents a potential method of climbing to fame that attracts Internet users like the Yukon attracted gold rush fanatics. Most youtubers want their cut of adoring viewers, and while most manage at least a few thousand hits for their videos of themselves talking at their web cams, a select few have used youtube to catapult themselves to varying degrees of cyber-stardom. Here are five of them, in no particular order.

Chris Crocker

Anyone who watches television or browses online news sites and blogs knows about Chris Crocker. Crocker is most famous for his "Leave Britney Alone!" video, which has logged more than ten million views, and showcased him crying and yelling about the media's recent favorite fallen star, Britney Spears. Crocker has now appeared on television several times, including in clips on multiple news stations and an appearance on the Maury Povich show, and has been signed to his own coming reality television show.

Whether or not you find Crocker likeable (his social commentary videos have gained millions of hits as well), one thing is clear: this guy attracts the eye. He's weird, he's loud, and he's successful at getting attention, whether he tries for the sake of a message, or just to get himself a bit of attention. Really, he does both.

Bo Burnham

Burnham is a 17 -year-old comedian/songwriter from Massachusetts who started posting videos of himself singing his songs and playing guitar in 2007. While not quite as famous as Chris Crocker, Burnham's youtube videos have millions of hits, and a much more positive public response, on average. His songs are somewhat controversial (especially "Klan Cookout" and "The Perfect Woman"), but are nonetheless widely received as hilarious and impressively clever. Not all of them are controversial, however - just see "3.14 Apple Pie" and "New Math," for some generally, er, almost, sort-of, clean humor.

In other words, due to his ironic camera-hamming, character impersonations (see "Rehab Center for Fictional Characters"), and appreciable singing voice, Bo has gotten away with taboo after taboo, and has won many a heart (and marriage proposal) from his cult-like following of youtube users. Bo is one of youtube's top subscribed comedians, sells his songs via iTunes, has a Hollywood agent (who also represents giants like Drew Carey and Dave Chappelle), and a Comedy Central booking. Not bad for someone under twenty who makes a hobby out of being deliberately politically incorrect.

Tay Zonday

"Chocolate Rain" is

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