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Tech Check
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So, earlier today, I delved into the drama gripping the blogosphere: Fake Steve Jobs and the efforts to unmask him. Now we have a fake Wall Street analyst purporting to be one of the key voices covering the company. Fake Steve Jobs? Meet Fake Gene! As in Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster. The blog: fakegene.blogspot.com, and on the home page says quite clearly: Gene Munster: AAPL Analyst. I'm too damn nice on TV. I need a place to tell it like it is. 
For those of you who don't know, Gene's the go-to guy on Apple [AAPL
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] . Always friendly, always available, despite his globe-trotting schedule, and always ready with a pithy, colorful, insightful soundbite for those of us trying to pull the financial curtain back on Apple.
And yes, he really is one of the truly nice guys out there. He's also practically ubiquitous on our air. During iPhone's madness, he got more face-time than me. So, some would say it was only a matter of time that as Fake Steve Jobs gained momentum, a Fake Gene wouldn't be too far behind.
And here it is. It's funny. Maybe not quite Fake Steve Jobs funny, but pretty good nonetheless.
The posts began July 10. The one from yesterday: "Looks like Shannon Cross (Soleil) has raised to $175. I've met Shannon a few times. I sure would like to play Texas Hold 'Em with some of my analyst peers. I think I could take 'em. OK Shannon, game on."
And a post about the recent speculation-shenanigans at JP Morgan over an impending cheap new iPhone. A components analyst wrote the report; the firm's Apple analyst shot it down. Here's Fake Gene: "(Charles) Shope called me to apologize for (Kevin) Chang's antics. Said Kev is gonna have a lot of free time on his hands now. Anyone need an analyst? I've got Andrew and Judy scoping Apple Stores this weekend. iPhone sales are still strong. The big million is upon us friends. Thanks for the affirming emails about the blog. It's just nice to have a place to let my hair down."
And this, Fake Gene's first post: "The other aapl analysts are chumps, pure and simple. If their clients are paying attention to the targets and selling when they hit, they have left sooooo much bread on the table. Check it out: Bernstein: $100; Citi: $110; Hambrecht: $125; JP Morgan: $125; Soleil: $125. Who you crappin'? Fellas, seriously get off the golf course and do a little work for a change. I admit I have my staff doing most of my work too but at least I can see that a price target on aapl ought to be above the current pps." Ouch.
What does the real Gene Munster have to say about all this? When I reached him this morning he was unaware of the site, and truly stunned when I told him about it. "That's a little bit disturbing," he said laughing. As he read it with me over the phone: "Oh my god, this is scary. I think that's really scary. It looks like the same kind of layout (as Fake Steve Jobs.)"
Actually, it's exactly the same. "Oh boy," he said, still laughing. "A lot of people on the internet have a lot of free time. It's not flattering. But this is good fun." And in response to the obvious question: "I'm definitely not Fake Gene."
Fake Gene, whoever you are? Welcome to the party. Blogging rocks.
Questions? Comments?
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