August 5th, 2007
Fake Steve Jobs outed by New York Times
It’s a sad day for impostors everywhere.
The New York Times has outed Fake Steve Jobs and he is Daniel Lyons, a senior editor at Forbes.
Times reporter Brad Stone quotes Lyons:
“I’m stunned that it’s taken this long,” said Mr. Lyons, 46, when a reporter interrupted his vacation in Maine on Sunday to ask him about Fake Steve. “I have not been that good at keeping it a secret. I’ve been sort of waiting for this call for months.”
Lyons, or Fake Steve Jobs, confirmed that the charade is up.
Well it had to happen. Honestly I can’t believe it’s taken this long. But as you may have heard, I’ve been busted by a newspaper reporter. My cover has been blown. Guy named Brad Stone, who works for the New York Times. Have you heard of him? Well, tip of the hat to you, Brad Stone. You did the sleuthing. You put the pieces of the puzzle together. You went through my trash, hacked into my computer, and put listening devices in my home. Now you’ve ruined the mystery of Fake Steve, robbing thousands of people around the world of their sense of childlike wonder. Hope you feel good about yourself, you mangina. One bright side is that at least I was busted by the Times and not Valleywag.
This is just a big bummer. Not knowing who Fake Steve Jobs was part of the appeal of his blog. I’m sure it’ll all work out swell for Lyons, who will get book deals about the chronicles of being a fake CEO.
I’ll still read Lyons, but I really didn’t want to know who Fake Steve was. I feel almost as crappy as I did when I learned Santa didn’t exist.
Oh well, I’ll let Fake Steve sum it up.
If anyone can think of a cool way to use the name “Brad Stone” (all or part) as a verb, let me know.
Maybe this:
brad, v.i.:1. To bust a fellow filthy hack without mercy and spoil the fun for everyone, in a quest for personal aggrandizement.
2. To urinate in a pool.
Well put Fake Steve, or Daniel, or Mr. Lyons. And Brad–thanks for peeing in the pool.
Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and Editorial Director of ZDNet sister site TechRepublic. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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| 08/05/07
