Casey Anthony Video Diary: Can She Find Redemption?

Jan. 6, 2012— -- Casey Anthony's sudden reemergence via an online video journal, in which she speaks with optimism about her future, has sparked controversy and left many wondering if it's possible for the 25-year-old acquitted of killing her daughter to find redemption.

In the black and white video diary posted to YouTube Thursday Anthony, sporting a new blonde bob and thick-framed glasses, spoke about her life in hiding, her new pet dog, buying a computer and her excitement for her future.

Late Thursday a second clip emerged, reportedly from the same user that posted the first clip, featuring a stream of never-before-seen photographs of Anthony supposedly taken while she has been in hiding.

"Casey Anthony is in hiding. These are photos that Casey gave to her 'friends' online," the text accompanying the video from user ameliathenbrooks1 states.

"[The first clip] is almost like a therapy session, in a lot of ways. 'I am feeling better … got a dog, love my dog.' This was really her attempt at catharsis," Howard Bragman, a veteran Hollywood publicist, told ABC News.

The video, in which she states it is October 13, is the first time the public has heard Anthony speak since a Florida jury found her not guilty of murdering her 2-year-old daughter Caylee. Anthony's highly publicized trial and July acquittal gripped the nation and left millions of people feeling that the Orlando mother got away with murder.

"I'm extremely excited that I'll be able to keep a video log, take some pictures and have something that I can finally call mine," Anthony says in the video. "I know it's going to be a while since I leave, I'll be here for many, many months more -- even if I'm only here for six months, even if I get off probation early."

Not once in the clip does Anthony mention her dead daughter Caylee.

The whereabouts of where the video was shot is unclear, although it is known that she is currently serving one year of probation in Florida for a check fraud conviction. Anthony is estranged from her parents after her defense's scorched earth approach, which saw her father accused of molesting her as a child and helping to dispose of Caylee's corpse.

"This has just been such a blessing in so many ways and now I, in some ways, have someone to talk to when I'm by myself, so I'm not bothering the poor dog who I've adopted, and I love, and he's as much my dog as any of the other pets I've ever had," Anthony says to the webcam.

Bragman, who is now Vice-Chairman of Reputation.com, an online service that helps people downplay harsh things that have been written about them on the Internet, is an expert at restoring a tarnished image.

"If this was her attempt to tell her own story for public consumption, she did it badly," he says. "If something bad about you is online, there is not statute -- it's like herpes. It's something you have to live with for the rest of your life."

Anthony's name became one of the top 10 Google searches of 2011, as millions of people were shocked by the alleged crime and tense trial -- and then equally shocked that the jury did not convict her. Many now see Anthony like they see O.J. Simpson, as someone who got away with murder.

"O.J. and Casey Anthony were both found not guilty in court of law, but the court of public opinion is a lot harsher, and makes much different assumptions than court of law did -- and it's harder to overcome," ABC News Consultant Howard Bragman said.

In a year that Hollywood celebrities like Charlie Sheen, who had a very public meltdown when leaving his hit TV series, and Kim Kardashian, for whom a quick marriage and tabloid headlines can mean a career, a bad image is tolerable -- even profitable. Bragman argues redemption might even be possible for someone like Lindsay Lohan, who was in and out of jail and courtrooms throughout 2011 after violating her probation.

"We would love Lohan to succeed. But the one thing I have learned about celebrities and trouble -- we can't want it more than they want it," Bragman said.

Casey Anthony's image problem runs much deeper than flavor-of-the-month celebrities or stars that commit petty crimes, says Bragman.

"No matter what the court of law found, there are tens of millions of people that believe she murdered her daughter," he says. "I believe that someone could come forward and say 'I did it!' -- and they'd still hate her."

With reporting by ABC News' Kaitlyn Folmer and Christina Ng.