This is ''Online Nation'' co-host Stevie Ryan outside her comfort zone: When the line on the cuing device reads ''revolting beverage,'' she delivers it by sticking her fingers in her mouth and gagging. A viral video of a cat she introduces triggers her to meow for effect, then to bark when the director requests that she go with it sans meow. Another Internet video called ''Show Beast'' sparks a ''Thriller''-esque scary stance and tone, which amuses her bosses until they ask her to try it one time ''like a girl.''

''I don't want to be a girl,'' whines the 22-year-old whose alter ego, the tough-talking chola Little Loca, made her a YouTube sensation and is about to turn her into a TV personality.

Ryan is sitting on the set's spiral staircase to nowhere. She crosses her legs, tilts her striking face and does indeed act like a girl . She later admits, though, that she's still getting used to being told what to say, how to say it and, toughest of all, having no say about the finished product.

Executive producer David Hurwitz observes, ''You couldn't create her, right? She's beautiful and talented but has no ego, and she's completely uninhibited - but never in a dangerous way.''

Ryan is one of the four hosts of ''Online Nation,'' a modern-day ''America's Funniest Home Videos'' that recently premiered Sunday night on The CW. In a very fast 30 minutes, the clip show zips through 40 or so videos but also reinforces how much YouTube has changed both show business and popular culture since its launch two years ago. As much of a mom-and-pop operation as the homemade productions it features, ''Online Nation'' cuts costs by hiring unknowns as hosts, producing four shows two days a month and not paying for its content. (The network cannot air videos without permission from the owners, however.)

''This show goes off and features all the people who have the motivation not to procrastinate but to create and go out and shoot and upload,'' executive producer Paul Cockerill said. ''It really is a new world out there, and this is really bringing to light all their creations.''

If it weren't for the ever popular video-sharing on YouTube, Ryan might still be stocking jeans at Levi's, waiting for that next commercial audition. Similarly, her co-hosts Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal, (www.rhettandlink.com ), both 29, who have been friends since first grade, might still be goofing around in North Carolina, showing their musical parodies and short films only to pals.

Instead, they are hosting the first network TV show dedicated to the artistic endeavors of amateurs like themselves who grew up with the Internet. (The fourth host is Joy Leslie, a 29-year-old actress meant to represent Internet junkies everywhere.)

''It's not about Hollywood connections anymore,'' Cockerill quipped. ''It's about your Internet connection.

''If somebody is sitting at home watching TV and sees this, they could think, here's my outlet,'' Cockerill added. '' This is just a generation's way of communicating.''