Fake Steve Jobs at MEFCon

May 28th, 2008 by Eric

To start the Mobile Entertainment Conference in beautiful Marina Del Rey, Fake Steve Jobs talked about how he got started as an experiment in an “old publishing” guy learning digital publishing such as HTML, digital photo editing and blogging. Although looking nothing like him nor dressing like him (turtlenecks), he did try to mimic Steve’s mannerisms when angry or pissed off (involving cursing). Having achieve worldwide blogger fame, he was getting over 600,000 visitors per month gobbling up the satire about one of technology’s key influencers. He blames his boredom with his job at Forbes magazine, covering companies like Sun Microsystems and IBM which ultimately led to his fear over the years as he witnessed print journalism dying all around him. One notable quote in speaking about the print journalism industry: “Flat is the new up. [A lower loss than the competitor was a good sign in a declining market]. Someone in the audience commented back in the room with: “Flat is the new up? Is that like with mobile TV that Rev Share is the new Profit?” In the mobile industry all are all hungry to eat larger slices on the pie; trying to get a slice larger than the width of the knife blade can be hard to do. I would tend to agree that Revenue Share is the hot buzz word when it comes to mobile content as the ecosystem involves many middlemen along the way and each want their value-add fees. So comparing notes amongst one content provider (CPs) to another and seeing how small their rev share is sad but a true part of the current reality.

He also chronicled how he became a victim of his own success for over a year before he was discovered. He noted that sometimes it would be hard to take back some strong criticism and comments that were posted since there was no editorial direction except for himself. But on the positive side, this did help to make Fake Steve Jobs successful. The comments from the readership allowed an engaging and interactive method for audience participation which is incredibly more effective than Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show or even voting on Americal Idol.

In addition to the Fake Steve Jobs blog, he also wrote a book: Options: The Secret Life of Steve Jobs, A Parody. Fake Steve is a huge Apple fan, but thinks that the first iPhone was not worth the money because he would have like to have 3G web browsing instead of a sub-par surfing experience. He carries a Blackberry, only because Forbes hands them out and it doesn’t cost him anything; iPhones are expensive and he would have to pay. But perhaps with the new iPhone coming out shortly he might convert.

In my opinion, while poking fun at a tech celebrity like Steve Jobs might be good for some laughs, you have to wonder how long it could last. I know a lot of anti-blogging sites (perhaps there is even one about myself, but keeping the content fresh and witty becomes a challenge, and often times it turns into a daily journal of boring nonsense or complaining drivel. I applaud Dan Lyons on getting his fame, it’s difficult work being a creative, starving artist, in any line of work.