Whether it’s simply covering celebrities or even becoming a celebrity, many take advantage of blogging on social networking sites and their own web pages to make the leap from obscurity into the limelight.

MySpace.com has launched several careers including one ambitious girl who made it her mission to have the most friends on her MySpace buddy list, “Tila Tequila,” or as her mother knows her, Tila Nguyen.

“I remember when she was just another import car model before she got famous on MySpace,” 25-year-old anthropology major Jonathan Long said about the reality-show star. “That was before her show, and before she even was on MySpace.”

Nguyen used the 15 minutes of fame she earned from having the most MySpace friends to launch a career by releasing an album through MySpace Records, hosting shows on VH1 and eventually starring in her own reality series on MTV.

“I like her reality show,” Long said, “but I only watch it because she’s hot.”

Some students think such a career could dissolve when a star’s appearance changes with age.

“Her type of career would only be good for short lived fame, that’s it,” 20-year-old business major Nicolle Greer said. “She’s not going to look like that forever.”

Other students, like 19-year-old business major Igor Letitchevski think Nguyen might be easily replaced, and does not deserve her fame because it comes only from her looks.

“Anyone that has that same look as her could be her, but someone like Perez Hilton actually offers something to the public,” Letitchevski said.

Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr or “Perez Hilton,” runs the celebrity gossip blog perezhilton.com. That blog has gained such notoriety that he has been a guest on many TV and radio shows.

“He is funny because he does a lot of commentary, and he is really sarcastic,” 21-year-old psychology major Ariana Berry said.

Lavandeira’s blog has catapulted him into a position to have befriended the celebrities he writes about including Paris Hilton, whom his moniker is based off of.

In addition he has been invited to attend award shows like the MTV Video Music Awards, radio shows including “The Howard Stern Show,” and exclusive events like the celebrity-based, amateur rap contest, “Celebrity Rap Superstar.”

“Writers and musicians have actual talent,” Greer said. “They aren’t basing their careers on something that can fade with time.”

“All celebrity blogs should be taken with a grain of salt,” he said, “and you shouldn’t believe what they have to say.”