KEY POINTS:
The former Mt Maunganui teenager who earned fame in cyberspace as LonelyGirl has resurfaced - this time as an image for Time magazine's annual "Person of the Year".
Nineteen-year-old Jessica Rose became known to millions this year as the 16-year-old home-schooled teenager Bree posting "LonelyGirl15" online video diaries on sites such as YouTube and MySpace.
Her image was back on the CNN website yesterday as Time made its annual pick. This year's honour went to '... You.'
"Yes, you," the magazine's cover said.
"You control the information age. Welcome to your world."
Time said its choice was made ahead of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, North Korea's Kim Jong Il and former Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld.
The article describes the rise of online websites such as YouTube and MySpace, which have catapulted ordinary people - such as Jessica - into the limelight through what Time termed Web 2.0.
It described the web as a tool "for bringing together the small contributions of millions of people and making them matter".
But it was a mistake to romanticise it too much.
"Some of the comments on YouTube make you weep for the future of humanity just for the spelling alone."
