The fake Steve Jobs got his fake training from a fake cat (er, Katt)
Yes, I chuckled along with the rest of the East Coasters when it was revealed that the fake Steve Jobs was NOT a West Coaster, not a young hip blogger (sorry, Dan) and not uncovered by the blogging crowd that will replace all journalists. I was doubly pleased to know that Dan Lyons, now forever known as The Fake Steve Jobs, currently with Forbes, was well tested in his fake mettle when he was at PC Week in the 1980s. Those in the know, know that PC Week is the direct ancestor of eWeek.
With that information in mind, I asked the Spencer Katt artist to draw his recollection of what it was like for Dan to learn his fake artistry at the feet of the original fake: Spencer F. Katt. I’ve included the drawing of the Fake Steve Jobs at the Katt’s knee.
There is a long history of PC Weekers who have gone on to fame and fortune (or at least staying out of jail) in technology, business and journalism. You can read about some of the former staff at David Churbuck’s PC Week alumni site.
I asked a few of the former PC Week staff to pass along their recollections of Dan’s first brushes with the tech journalism business. I’ll be adding more responses as they arrive.
Sam Whitmore (he of www.mediasurvey.com fame and also recently married) responded first. It wouldn’t have surprised me if he was responding at about 3 a.m. Hawaii or West Coast time as I don’t think Sam ever slept in the years I worked with him.
“I recall that the PCW business staff ordered from Boston Chicken on Thursday nights, and Dan dubbed their heavily buttered biscuits “grease pucks,” wrote Sam.
Sam, ever the newsguy, might have uncovered nothing about the Fake Steve, but may have uncovered why McDonalds finally unloaded and sold off Boston Market (the renamed Boston Chicken). It wasn’t the greasy chicken that killed the deal, it was the hockey puck biscuits.