Daring Fireball: Fake Steve, Unmasked

This is Gruber’s take on the whole FSJ news.

I agree with this:

Wishing the balloon had never popped is one thing. Trying to unpop it is another.

but I disagree with this:

Knowing who the author is doesn’t spoil Fake Steve any more than knowing which cast member is playing the president on Saturday Night Live. It’s the performance that counts, not the secret.

Knowing who the author is certainly does spoil the fun. Whereas in the SNL example, you know from the start that the president performance is really Dana Carvey in makeup, you don’t know who is behind the words with FSJ. To me, one of the appeals was not knowing who this really is in addition to the “performance”. Now when I read it, I will be picturing Daniel Lyons, and now that Forbes is taking over sponsorship of the blog, it will become somewhat commercialized (well, as commercialized as a satirical blog can be).

Before, we knew it was fake, but it was fake without a face/name.

I think I would have enjoyed the news of the unveiling of FSJ a little better had it been some 16 year old kid in his/her parents basement. Although it is neat to see a senior editor of Forbes do this “on the side”, the kid in the basement would have allowed it to be less of a big deal to the point it could have been downplayed.