Dot-com Bubble Boy Josh Harris Returns to Web

JOSHIN' AROUND Operator11 mockup, Harris (inset)

Josh Harris, the merry prankster of Silicon Alley circa 1999, has emerged from hiding, and launched a new web startup—this time in Los Angeles. Operator11.com, a "social television network," is like a mashup of YouTube and MySpace that allows users to collaborate on the creation of video webcasts. It's also a little like Harris's legendary dot-bomb, Pseudo, but with user-generated content. The site launched in May without fanfare—except for a jeering mention from Valleywag, after an unsuspecting visitor to the site was greeted with live footage of a gentleman whacking off. ("Good publicity," Harris says.) Otherwise, the site has been flying low, an altitude that doesn't come naturally to a serial provocateur once worth as much as $40 million.