The Bubble Boy

April 8, 2008 / Add comment

In 2000, Josh Harris was worth $100 million. Backed by companies like Intel, his Jupiter Communications made him one of the inaugural dot-com big shots. Flash forward eight years and the former media darling is penniless. In Hanas's intriguing profile of wretched excess, many of Harris's web ventures are mentioned -- some hair-brained, some experimental, some pleasantly puzzling. Take We Live in Public, the 100-day experiment in which Harris and his then-girlfriend lived in a camera-equipped loft, Big Brother-style, with the results broadcast on the web. Sometimes delusional, sometimes visionary, this web-era PT Barnum won't stop until everyone knows his name -- as an enlightened cyber-artist or a certified lunatic.