Elaine Wherry is the founder of Meebo looking to hire more JavaScript engineers. She decided to test the state of Silicon Valley recruiters with a fake website, resume, and LinkedIn profile blending her own experience and educational credentials of her husband.

Most inbound communication happened over LinkedIn even though a contact email was listed on the website.

The fake profile heard from an average of 1.4 recruiters at each startup and 4.6 recruiters at each large company. Large companies used more "terse, canned emails" than startups and were least likely to describe a position or company goals.

Towards the end of the article Elaine talks about recruiters who previously worked with Meebo under a contract attempting to hire away her employees before a no-poach clause expired. Some recruiters would email her fake profile then contact her claiming to have great candidates and even show up to a company happy hour!

The entrepreneurial epicenter is no longer Palo Alto. If you’re south of San Mateo, figure out your SF strategy now.

This is why many engineers have emptied their LinkedIn profiles, and don't have public websites where they say what they do.