Identity of 'Fake Steve Jobs' Revealed
The identity of Fake Steve Jobs is a secret no more. The author of the popular Web log that for the past year has taken a candid look at the world of CEO blogs -- and even has the real Steve Jobs reading it -- has finally revealed himself.
Writers at The New York Times discovered the identity of FSJ after it obtained the manuscript book to come out in October to be written in the voice of the Fake Steve Jobs character, Options: The Secret Life of Steve Jobs, a Parody.
The book was said to be written by a published novelist who also writes for a major business publication. The NYT used the book, plus the information given to narrow it down to Daniel Lyons, senior writer at Forbes Magazine.
"I'm stunned that it's taken this long," he told the paper. "I've been sort of waiting for this call for months."
Lyons' reasoning for Fake Steve Jobs was to be a parody on the CEO blogs that have become all so popular with the rise of corporate blogging. Often, these sites are nothing more than corporate propaganda: Lyons wanted to write a blog where a CEO tells everyone what he really thinks.
Of course, the blog may have simply been setup simply as a mechanism to promote and sell Lyons' book.
Either way, Jobs was an easy target to parody. Many view him as cocky and over-confident, and he is frequently very candid with his views. Lyons even kept the identity of FSJ from his own employer, although later revealed it to his bosses and coworkers.
Forbes said it was considering moving the blog to its own site in September, perhaps indicating that Lyons was about to reveal his identity anyway.
The real Steve Jobs seemed to be uninterested in the identity of Fake Steve Jobs, and told the NYT that he had no plans to read Lyons' book.