Fatally overserious Read/WriteWeb blogger asks when Forbes editor Dan Lyons's Secret Diary of Steve Jobs became a "reliable source." He points to recent posts Lyons wrote as Fake Steve Jobs about PodTech and Facebook — both of which Valleywag picked up. I think the question is more when anyone at Read/WriteWeb ever had a blog post as funny, informative, and truthful — even when fictional — as Fake Steve.

Robert Scoble, the king of mindless time-wasting afternoon desktop entertainment — at least for me — blogs a denial of senior Forbes staffer Dan Lyons's claim that PodTech, Scoble's employer, is shutting down soon. As Scobleizer correctly fumes, had Lyons posted the rumor for his mag instead of on his semi-fictional blog, he would've been forced to at least call someone at PodTech for a reaction first. Still, Scoble's wrong when he claims I propagated the rumor because I "compete" with him. Robert, you're one of my best free content providers. Don't ever go!

PodTech, home to videoblogger Robert Scoble, is shutting down, says Fake Steve Jobs blogger and Forbes senior editor Dan Lyons. "Everybody in the Valley is just really bumming out," reports Fake Steve. "Except that of course everyone is also really heartened by this because it really confirms that the Web 2.0 model is viable and is really going to be huge." I'm sorry for the PodTech folks, but I have to ask: Does Lyons think the real Steve Jobs cares? UPDATE: Scobleizer says it's a "bull####" rumor.

Ever since studly Timesman Brad Stone outed Forbes editor Dan Lyons as Fake Steve Jobs, the author of the faux-Apple CEO Web diary, I've been waiting to see what happens when Lyons meets up with some of the folks he's savaged as the blog's anonymous auteur. I'll get my first chance when Lyons gets interviewed by former Apple evangelist Guy Kawasaki, who's been repeatedly ridiculed by Lyons as Fake Steve. But why would Kawasaki display any hard feelings when he can use the notoriety of a feud to elevate his rapidly sinking profile? Dignity doesn't move units. The interview, sponsored by LinkedIn, takes place November 6 at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. (Photos by hyku)

Last week I bitched wrote about a delayed order for the new Fake Steve Jobs book, Options, from Amazon.com. An email from the online store told me that the book, out today at a Borders near you, had been rescheduled for a December shipment. I emailed CEO Jeff Bezos with my sob story and got a very apologetic email from Executive Customer Relations. I now know that my "experience with this order has been unordinary and not truly representative of the quality of service we offer." Well, that's a relief. Maybe I'll get free overnight shipping. Until then, I'll have to be happy with excerpts. The full email after the jump.

Six years ago today, Steve Jobs introduced the iPod. Have you heard of it? 110 million units later, more than a third of Apple's revenue comes from the iPod and music-related businesses and AAPL shares are up almost 2,000 percent. What would Fake Steve Jobs say? "Suck it, Dell." Get a blast from the past with the iPod intro video, after the jump.

In his guise as Fake Steve Jobs, Forbes editor Dan Lyons occasionally broke character to ask his readers for help in getting advertising for his site. It turns out that he could have just asked his bosses all along. The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs is now running an ad served by Forbes. The current campaign is for IBM, just a few inches above a post in which Fake Steve Jobs gloats about Apple's market cap passing Big Blue's. And to think — for this treatment, IBM is paying Forbes' staggering $109 CPM? Translation: Every time your Web browser pays homage to Fake Steve, a dime and a penny clink in the Forbes coffers. Congratulations, Dan-O: At last, you've made your sideline career as El Jobso pay off.

Maybe that last encore except from Options: The Secret Life of Steve Jobs, a Parody was one too many. It's early, sure, but the book ranks way down at No. 1,432 on Amazon's bestseller list. Lesson? Fake Steve needs to send Moshe up to Seattle to have a chat with Jeff Bezos. [Amazon.com]

Author Dan Lyons saw our excerpts from Options, his fictional novel as Fake Steve Jobs, and alerted his publisher. A nice young man from Sub Rights (whatever that is) rang my cellphone and, after checking out our posts, had one word: "Awesome." After the jump, a bonus three-fer.

One last excerpt from Options, the fictional novel by Fake Steve Jobs poser Dan Lyons.

Another excerpt from Options, the fictional novel by Fake Steve Jobs poser Dan Lyons.

Another excerpt from Options, the fictional novel by Fake Steve Jobs poser Dan Lyons.

Another excerpt from Options, the fictional novel by Fake Steve Jobs poser Dan Lyons.

Options, the fictional novel by Fake Steve Jobs author Dan Lyons, is out already if you know where to look. To help you blow off Friday I'll post the best passages as I hit them. The novel, spun out from Lyons's insanely great Secret Diary of Steve Jobs blog, tells Steve's side of the stock options backdating scandal. Here's the first of our excerpts:

Looking for a copy of Options, Fake Steve Jobs blogger Dan Lyons's parody of the Apple guru? As I type this, Borders in San Mateo has 3 copies. The San Francisco stores in Union Square and Stonestown each have 5. Sometimes, people, you need to quit Googling and pick up the phone. Dial now and ask them to hold you one, which they'll do for three days.

Being an intrepid tech reporter, I buy books related to my work. I just picked up The Gawker Guide to Conquering All Media (obligatory: it is the greatest work ever put to print. You should buy copies for yourself and all your friends). I preordered Options by Forbes editor Dan Lyons, writing as Fake Steve Jobs, way back in July. I've been pantingly awaiting the arrival of my copy from Amazon.com. A few days ago, I got an email from Amazon saying my book arrival date was getting pushed back — to December 14. I thought it was just a mixup, but now we've heard from other sources that Amazon sent them the same email. What's going on? Here's what Fake Steve himself has to say about it.

Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang was spotted leaving Facebook's Palo Alto headquarters, according to Fake Steve Jobs. FSJ's blog, written by Forbes editor Dan Lyons is highly satirical, but from what we hear, a meeting between Yang and Zuckerberg right now makes all the sense in the world. [The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs]

A few weeks ago, Forbes editor Dan Lyons, writing as Fake Steve Jobs, wrote a devastating analysis of the One Laptop Per Child project. On Tuesday, Wayan Vota, a blogger who follows the OLPC project, responded in essence, that while he agreed with Fake Steve, he still agreed with the project's aims. That would have been the end of it, except for a comment left on his post by "Fake Steve Jobs." The problem? Lyons didn't leave that comment. Vota compared the IP address that left the comment to others that he'd received and tracked it back to the Racepoint Group, the PR firm that reps OLPC. The commenter has since apologized, but the damage is done. To Kyle Austin, soon-to-be-fired flunky at Racepoint Group we say: great spin control. Proof after the jump.

"Not so well-kept secret in the Valley is that Google is freaking out because a lot of its folks are vesting soon and these greedy, restless bastards are looking for the next Big Score and right now that's looking like Facebook. So lots of Google talent is going to be streaming out the door to Facebook and all the free bus rides in the world aren't going to keep them locked in." — Forbes editor Dan Lyons, posing as Apple CEO Steve Jobs. [The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs]