Dan Lyons
Born 1960 · Age 65
American writer, journalist and author (aka 'Fake Steve Jobs'); former senior editor at Forbes; editor of ReadWrite; HubSpot employee; author of fiction and nonfiction books; writer and co-producer on HBO's Silicon Valley.
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Life & Career Timeline
Graduated from Brooks School (approx.)
Attended Brooks School in North Andover, Massachusetts (college preparatory). Exact years not given; estimated graduation around age 18.
Won AWP Award for Short Fiction
Won the 1992 Association of Writers & Writing Programs Award for Short Fiction for his story 'The First Snow.'
Received MFA from University of Michigan
Earned a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) from the University of Michigan.
Won Playboy College Fiction Award (mentioned)
Received the Playboy College Fiction Award for the story 'The Greyhound' (Wikipedia lists the award but does not provide a date).
Published 'The Last Good Man' (short stories)
Lyons' first published book, a collection of short stories titled The Last Good Man, was released.
Published 'What SCO Wants, SCO Gets' (Forbes)
As senior editor at Forbes, Lyons covered the SCO lawsuits and published the article 'What SCO Wants, SCO Gets' (June 18, 2003).
Covered SCO v. IBM and Linux litigation (ongoing)
Between 2003 and 2007 Lyons reported extensively on the SCO Group litigation against IBM/Linux while at Forbes.
Published 'SCO's "Smoking Gun" Versus IBM' (Forbes)
Forbes article covering evidence and arguments in the SCO-IBM/Linux disputes.
Published 'SCO Scores' (Forbes)
Another Forbes piece in the series of SCO coverage.
Published cover article 'Attack of the Blogs' (Forbes)
Forbes cover article arguing about the influence (and downsides) of blogs online.
Started 'The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs' as 'Fake Steve Jobs'
Began blogging under the pseudonym 'Fake Steve Jobs', a parody of Apple CEO Steve Jobs that quickly became widely read.
Fake Steve Jobs blog rises to national attention
By 2006–2007 the Fake Steve Jobs blog was referenced by numerous outlets (Engadget, BusinessWeek, Forbes, CNET, etc.) and boosted Lyons' public profile.
Ranked in Business 2.0 '50 Who Matter Now' (Fake Steve)
Fake Steve Jobs was ranked #37 in a Business 2.0 list '50 Who Matter Now' (approx. 2006).
Steve Jobs and Bill Gates publicly comment about Fake Steve
At the Wall Street Journal/All Things Digital events in 2007, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates both publicly referenced the Fake Steve phenomena (Jobs said he found it 'pretty funny').
Published follow-up Forbes SCO coverage (example date)
Continued SCO coverage culminating in a 2007 mea culpa on his earlier SCO predictions (see 'Snowed By SCO').
Revealed as author of 'Fake Steve' by The New York Times
On August 5, 2007 NYT technology correspondent Brad Stone exposed Lyons as the author behind Fake Steve Jobs.
Published 'Snowed By SCO' (Forbes mea culpa)
Lyons admitted his earlier SCO predictions were wrong in an article titled 'Snowed By SCO' (September 19, 2007).
Published book 'Options: The Secret Life of Steve Jobs' (parody)
Released the parody book Options: The Secret Life of Steve Jobs (October 2007) under the Fake Steve Jobs persona; expanded on blog material and focused on stock-options scandal themes.
Placed Fake Steve on hiatus out of concern for Jobs' health
After seeing Steve Jobs' condition at the early-June 2008 Worldwide Developers Conference, Lyons said he could not continue the parody and placed the blog on indefinite hiatus.
Announced new site under his own name; Fake Steve hiatus
On July 9, 2008 Lyons announced he would launch a site under his own name and discontinue writing in the faux-Jobs style.
Resumed Fake Steve blog after Jobs' recovery news
The Fake Steve Jobs blog was continued in 2009 after reports that Steve Jobs had recovered from a liver transplant.
Suspended Fake Steve again during Jobs' second leave
In January 2011 Lyons suspended the Fake Steve Jobs blog again when Steve Jobs took a second leave of absence for health reasons.
Posted farewell poem after Steve Jobs' death
Following Steve Jobs' death in October 2011, Fake Steve Jobs posted a farewell poem and ceased activity.
Editor of ReadWrite (approx.)
Lyons served as editor of ReadWrite prior to leaving in March 2013. Exact start date is not specified in the source; this entry estimates his ReadWrite editorship during the early 2010s.
Left ReadWrite to accept position at HubSpot
In March 2013 Lyons left ReadWrite to join the Boston-based startup HubSpot.
Took a 14-week break from HubSpot
Lyons took a 14-week leave from HubSpot in 2014; during this period he wrote for television (Silicon Valley).
Served as writer and co-producer on HBO's Silicon Valley
Lyons is credited as a writer and co-producer on HBO's Silicon Valley (Season Two staff writer credits and co-producer credit on later seasons noted).
Wrote 'Sand Hill Shuffle' (Silicon Valley episode)
Credited as a writer for the Silicon Valley Season Two episode 'Sand Hill Shuffle' which aired April 12, 2015. Lyons served as a staff writer on Season Two.
Wrote 'Runaway Devaluation' (Silicon Valley episode)
Credited writer on Season Two episode aired April 19, 2015.
Wrote 'Bad Money' (Silicon Valley episode)
Credited writer on Season Two episode aired April 26, 2015.
Wrote 'The Lady' (Silicon Valley episode)
Credited writer on Season Two episode aired May 3, 2015.
Wrote 'Server Space' (Silicon Valley episode)
Credited writer on Season Two episode aired May 10, 2015.
Wrote 'Homicide' (Silicon Valley episode)
Credited writer on Season Two episode aired May 17, 2015.
Wrote 'Adult Content' (Silicon Valley episode)
Credited writer on Season Two episode aired May 24, 2015.
Wrote 'White Hat/Black Hat' (Silicon Valley episode)
Wrote the script for the episode 'White Hat/Black Hat' (aired May 31, 2015). Reportedly written while on a 14-week break from HubSpot in 2014.
Wrote 'Binding Arbitration' (Silicon Valley episode)
Credited writer on Season Two episode aired June 7, 2015.
Wrote 'Two Days of the Condor' (Silicon Valley episode)
Credited writer on Season Two episode aired June 14, 2015. Lyons served as staff writer on Season Two and is credited as writer across multiple episodes.
Published 'Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble'
Released Disrupted, a nonfiction account of his time at HubSpot. The book became a New York Times, Wall Street Journal and San Francisco Chronicle bestseller.
Paperback release of 'Disrupted'
Paperback edition of Disrupted published (March 7, 2017).
Published 'Lab Rats: How Silicon Valley Made Work Miserable for the Rest of Us'
Released Lab Rats in 2018; the book was inspired in part by readers' letters responding to Disrupted.
Lab Rats paperback and related promotion (ongoing)
Follow-on promotion and editions related to Lab Rats continued into 2019; Lyons continued speaking and writing on tech labor culture.
Published 'STFU: The Power of Keeping Your Mouth Shut in an Endlessly Noisy World'
Released STFU (2023), another nonfiction book on communication and behavior in modern life.
Maintained public author/columnist presence and website
Continued to publish columns, maintain a personal site (danlyons.io) and engage in public speaking and media appearances.
Key Achievement Ages
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