20/20 Friday: Caught 2007

Dec. 24, 2007— -- This week "2020" reflects on the year's most electrifying moments, from extreme behavior to the people you know best, caught at their worst.

Few images generated more impact than Lindsay Lohan, underage and overserved, out cold in the front seat of a car on Sunset Boulevard. There was also the usual array of frisky fun, such as Vanessa Minnillo and Nick Lachey captured naked for all to see. Hollywood's gods and goddesses of bad behavior were chronicled in detail by the paparazzi, who raked in huge profits. But as ABC's Chris Connelly navigates the netherworld of caught-on-video celebrity misadventure, this year unquestionably belonged to one woman alone: the unpredictable Britney Spears.

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In an Internet democracy where mouse clicks amount to near-instant fame, an average guy sitting at home with his computer can achieve notoriety. Last year, William Sledd was a typical 23-year-old who lived with his parents in Paducah, Ky., and worked at the Gap. Then, through boredom and curiosity, he started making video blogs with his new Macintosh computer and posting them on YouTube. He named his video sessions "Ask a Gay Man" and discussed everything from fashion to baking cupcakes to being gay in a small town. Within a few months, Sledd had the fifth most viewed video on YouTube. Now, one birthday later and 59 videos in the can, his fan base keeps growing and mainstream media is knocking at his door.

People around the world watched 100 billion videos this year on YouTube and other Internet sites. This week, ABC's John Stossel looks at the most popular of 2007, which includes a beauty queen's pratfall, kids performing dangerous stunts and Minneapolis graduate student Tay Zonday, whose amateur music video of his song "Chocolate Rain" has been watched more than 12 million times. Even big stars like Will Ferrell have produced enormously popular skits for the Internet. Other popular videos include hand-holding otters, a talented Etch a Sketch artist, kids who videotape themselves attacking others and then post the fights on the Web, and a remarkable battle between a herd of buffalo and hungry lions.