People have friends, co-workers than move on etc etc. If you work at a couple decent sized companies in the bay area there is a good chance you come to know a person or two at a lot decent sized companies.

And, the people at the bottom of the org chart often see it the clearest. They know what people are actually working on.

If you haven't worked in one of the super bloated companies, it's hard to describe exactly how wild it is. Really, people aren't trying to sound smart, they've just had their butt in a seat at one of the places.

I originally upvoted the commend you replied to, as it seemed to make a good point, but after reading your reply I had to take the upvote down and give it to you. Just wanted to share.