They say fame is fleeting, but is it? With the invention of the Internet, hundreds have launched themselves into stardom via the new form of self-promotion: the personal website/blog. The old saying “15 minutes of fame” has been made obsolete; websites are here forever, or, at least, as long as the Internet is in existence. Once a site is uploaded, the information is accessible the world over.

This knowledge has prompted a new wave in fame-seekers who have developed sites based on everything from gossip to home videos in the hopes that someone, somewhere will discover the site, pass it on to friends, and so establish a fanbase.

Most of these sites are nothing more than hobbies, but a few have been constructed for the purpose of launching the personalities behind them into the world of Hollywood. Among these, the sites Nonsociety, BriTANicK, and Whatever Hollywood are gaining a fair amount of Internet publicity.

Nonsociety was started by Julia Allison, who lives in New York City and writes a column for Time Out New York. Developed as a webcast, the site features Allison and her friend Meghan, each with their own “column” on the site.

Allison took charge of the dating column on the site, where she posts everything from pictures of New York to interviews with famous individuals, from Internet chats to videos of herself lip syncing in strange locations. Her writing style is more fun and flippant than deep and intense. Allison delights in life, and her positive attitude resonates on her site (of which the prominent color scheme is pink-her favorite color).

Allison is a self-proclaimed self-promoter, a job she excels at. Allison fought her way into events, advertised her site, and pursued publishers relentlessly. She has done a fabulous job of drawing attention to both herself and her talents. Her fame continues to rise, and she has been featured on the cover of Wired magazine, as well as written for Cosmopolitan and other publications. New York Magazine even named Allison the most famous young journalist in New York City.

The site, BriTANicK, was started in 2007 by Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher, two friends who attend New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. In their own words, McElhaney and Kocher “decided that they didn’t want to use the knowledge and experience they garnered in college for anything but creating short stupid videos that would make them laugh.”

These “short stupid videos” number at thirteen so far, none above ten minutes in length, and most under five.

The description of their operation, posted on the website, says, “Brian and Nick write, direct, edit, and act in all of the videos. If ever they are in need of assistance, as is often the case, they call upon their army of friends to come to the rescue.”

As promised, all of their videos are comedies of the most imaginative proportions. “Beer Run” features a boy who’s head has been “taken over” by an escaped convict who then tries to entice the boy, who is underage, into buying beer. Another video, “Teamwork,” captures the attempts of a boy (Kocher), assisted by his friend (McElhaney), in getting a girl to kiss him.

McElhaney and Kocher’s most recent undertaking was a live show at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in February 2009, entitled “The Infinity Prison.”

Whatever Hollywood is a witty site run by three Hollywood hopefuls: Suri, Apple, and Shiloh. All videos are written, shot, directed, and performed by the three girls near their L.A. neighborhood. The site features Shorts, music videos performed by the trio, the Whatever Show, which resembles a reality TV series, and Whatever Hollywood merchandise.

The main purpose of Whatever Hollywood was to display the girls’ work, in hopes that production companies’ interests might be spiked. When no one took the bait, however, the girls declared on the site, “Whatever Hollywood! We’ll do it ourselves with the help of Final Cut Pro, sparkly fabrics, a piece of green cloth, and LOTS of enthusiasm!”

The trio kept their promise, and have churned out 36 videos to date. All are fabulously made, with hilarious dialogue and bizarre plots that entertain for hours. Recommended clips include “Spray Tan BTS,” “Pop Chips,” and “Secretary.”

Suri is the “nocturnal brains” of Whatever Hollywood. Suri acts as the group’s producer, editing footage using equipment in their apartment. Apple both acts in and writes the scripts for most of the videos. Shiloh is the singer-songwriter of the group, who has her own MySpace page featuring her music.

These girls are going to go far with their wit, acting, and fun-loving personalities. Check out the rest of the Whatever Hollywood cast.

Nonsociety, BriTANicK, and Whatever Hollywood sites act as a type of PR for the site constructors. The people behind the websites are in (almost) complete control over what goes on the site, how the site looks, and what image is promoted by the site. By putting their work, and thusly their personality, out on the web, Nonsociety, BriTANicK, and Whatever Hollywood have managed to place their names where companies (and future employers) can discover them.