14 DAY TRIAL // Most Apple related sites deal with news, rumors and reports about the company and its products, but one of them has always been different. The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs, written by Fake Steve Jobs has been very successful for some time now, with both average Apple customers and high profile people in the technology industry. After many months of speculation regarding the secret identity of Fake Steve Jobs, the man behind the scenes has finally been revealed.
The man behind the satirical blog is Daniel Lyons, a 46-year-old senior editor at Forbes magazine who lives near Boston. Lyons came up with the idea after he noticed that Chief Executives that had turned to blogging rarely spoke candidly. After trying on the voices of several CEOs, he settled on the Apple co-founder. The blog itself quickly became so popular that even though Lyons twice tried to abandon it, the sheer number of e-mails asking what had happened and why Fake Steve had disappeared brought him back.
There has been much speculation over the identity of Fake Steve and Lyons said he is truly amazed that it took so long for him to be discovered. Many thought him to be an Apple insider, but Lyons has never interviewed Jobs, or even written a story about the company. Instead, he went out, bought books and read a lot about the company and its products.
Later this year, Da Capo Press will publish Lyons' satirical novel written in the voice of the Fake Steve character, "Options: The Secret Life of Steve Jobs, a Parody." The book will be a well-plotted satire that pictures Jobs grappling with his real-life stock option backdating troubles and getting help and bad advice, from friends like Larry Ellison, Bono and Al Gore.
With the identity of Fake Steve revealed it will be interesting to see if the Secret Diary of Steve Jobs continues to be a success or if the unveiling of the man behind the scenes will be the kiss of death.