Discussing the real identity of Fake Steve Jobs is up there with debating the veracity of the moon-landing, how many gunmen were in Dallas on November 22nd, 1963, and whether or not Pauly Shore engaged in some sort of Faustian bargain to achieve any sort of fame after all.
Investigations into what is surely the most celebrated case of identity theft on the net intensified this weekend as tech gossip blog Valleywag claimed to have unmasked the perpetrator as Wired editor and Cult of Mac writer Leander Kahney, based largely on conjecture and circumstantial evidence. Valleywag’s victory was short-lived as Kahney himself wrote in and denied the allegation, though he later told BusinessWeek “I didn’t want to ruin it by fessing up…I was hoping to string it out over the weekend. But you can’t take credit for someone else’s work.”
And so the search continues. Rumors are swirling that FSJ’s author will announce a book deal this week and, along with it, his true identity. Would knowing who the man behind the curtain is ruin Fake Steve Jobs? I don’t know, but I’d suspect his popularity and influence might wane once his real name is known. Though, if I were a betting man, I’d say that, at this rate, Valleywag’ll run itself into the ground with its Ahabesque quest first.
Despite that, I will say this (hear me now and believe me later): while I’ve referred above to FSJ’s author in the masculine singular, I remain almost totally convinced from evidence uncovered by my own investigations that, unlike in Dallas, there are several writers behind FSJ. Back and to the left. Back and to the left.
Cmon, Gruber! Be a man and fess up already!