Keyword Search:
text size: A | A | A
Fake Steve Jobs Arranges Book Tour
   posted 11:23 am Wed October 03, 2007 - SAN FRANCISCO
The "Fake Steve Jobs" blogger who jealously guarded his anonymity for nearly a year is now arranging a publicity tour and touting his real-life biography in a forthcoming book. Forbes magazine editor Dan Lyons had intended to publish "oPtion$: The Secret Life of Steve Jobs" under a pseudonym. But in August, after a reporter with The New York Times exposed the satirical alter-ego of Apple Inc. s CEO, Da Capo Press revamped the galley and added a biography on the back flap.
Meanwhile, Lyons called bookstores and arranged readings in the San Francisco area around the Nov. 1 publication - a book tour hadn't been planned because his identity was supposed to remain secret.

Lyons is not planning extensive travels elsewhere, however. Da Capo told him it was too late for a big tour - and, Lyons lamented, the book might bomb outside of Silicon Valley. Lyons' isn't even hopeful about his hometown of Boston.

ABC 7 News myTAKE - What's Your Opinion? "Being too insiderish - it's my biggest concern," Lyons told The Associated Press. "Maybe it's one of those things where if I had a couple more months to make another pass, I could find a way to make it more universal."

Lyons, who wrote "oPtion$" at night and on weekends, belted out the 248-page book in four months to get it to bookstores before the holidays.

The fictional work chronicles Jobs through the stock options backdating scandal in 2006, and it includes appearances by Bono, Al Gore, Hillary Clinton and Bill Gates (who appears in Jobs' crucifixion nightmare). Every character is a buffoon - from Zune-playing "frigtards" to billionaire megalomaniacs who short-sell their own stock.

Lyons - far humbler than Fake Steve Jobs - still seems incredulous of his success. His blog is popular among techies worldwide.

"People in India and Russia, what do they get out of it? Do they really know who all these characters are?" Lyons asked. "My brother-in-law gets most of the jokes, but he's an engineer - he's in optics, but still."

You need to be a registered member of
ABC 7 News to leave comments on news stories.
Not a member yet? Click Here to sign up.
Username or Email Address
Password
Please leave your comments below:
Messages that harass, abuse or threaten other members; have obscene or otherwise objectionable content; have spam, commercial or advertising content or inappropriate links may be removed and may result in the loss of your posting privileges. Please do not post any private information unless you want it to be available publicly. Never assume that you are completely anonymous and cannot be identified by your posts.


TM & © WJLA/NewsChannel 8, a division of Allbritton Communications Company
Please read our Privacy Policy. By using this site, you accept our Terms of Service.
Children's Television | EEO Reports | WJLA adheres to the ICRA RATING SYSTEM