For most of people’s lives, the entertainment we consume is not necessarily something we have much of a choice in. Yes, we can choose what movies, music or television shows we watch and listen to. But before the internet, artists had to go through executives and producers before they could ever distribute their art to large numbers of people.

Brilliant ideas were left on the cutting room floor because they were too “edgy” or not “mainstream.” However, the internet has made way for a whole new form of media democracy. I would bet money that this intimidates high-paying executives at least a little bit.

No longer do you have to rely on television or the newspaper to get your news. Now you can turn to blogs.

You want to animate cartoons for people to watch? Create it using Flash and upload it on the internet. If you are lucky, maybe someone will see one of your videos and offer you a job.

Do you want to have your own show, or just get your opinion out there? Make a YouTube account and get to work.

There is no longer any middleman or gatekeeper for the media. The floodgates have officially opened. The internet has given birth to a new type of celebrity. The “internet celebrity.”

Probably one of the first true internet celebrities to come into existence was Gary Brolsma. Now, I’m sure most of you are thinking right now, “Who the hell is Gary Brolsma?” Well, only his friends and family refer to him as Gary. To the rest of the world, he is known as the “Numa Numa guy.”

Yes, this young man from New Jersey has reached international stardom from lip-syncing a song from a Moldovan pop band called O-Zone. Not before the 21st century could somebody like that have achieved fame of this degree.

Fast foreword to today and there are average people who have gained celebrity status just by posting video blogs on YouTube. Occasionally, by posting their videos on YouTube a user might be able to make a transition into the mainstream media. One example of this would be the YouTube user known as Boh3m3, whose real name is Ben Going.

Going made his introduction to YouTube in May of 2006, and now he has 37,986 subscribers. According to The Associated Press he is “one of the best-known members of the YouTube community.” Now, because of his status in the YouTube community, Going was offered an apprenticeship to become a music-video director.

Most recently, 19-year old Tennessean Chris Crocker has become famous because of his famous “Leave Brittney Alone!” video, where he tearfully chastises critics of Brittney Spears who made fun of her performance at the MTV Music Video Awards. Since then, Crocker has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live and the Povich Show, and has even has signed a development deal with 44 Blue Productions to star in his own reality television show.

But not everyone who is generating buzz on the Web has come from nowhere. Some celebrities have found more fame or have even experienced a resurgence in popularity because of the internet. I’m sure most everyone remembers the famous “Chuck Norris Facts.” Before those came around, Mr. Norris had all but fallen off the face of the earth.

Also, presidential hopeful Barack Obama got some extra attention through YouTube video called, “I got a crush.on Obama.” In the video that was posted in June 2007, actress and model Amber Lee Ettinger (who has now become known as “Obama Girl”) is seductively lip-synched a song about her love for Obama. The video became an internet phenomenon almost instantly.

YouTube, flash cartoons and blogs have all given a new meaning to the word “indie.” No longer does one have to go through Hollywood executives and producers-who most likely have a very narrow view on what is talent-to get your name out there. All you need is a computer, store-bought software, and ideas.