Lots of "performance review boilerplate, I don't want to say anything _bad_ about this person but there's nothing particularly good I can say" energy there.

Someone decided that this feedback was worth highlighting:

"Bob demonstrated a level of intelligence and contextual understanding that goes beyond anything I've seen in other tools. Bob goes beyond anything I've seen in other tools."

If you search those names you'll find most have a LinkedIn page proudly displaying their many "IBM Influencer" achievements and qualifications.

I realise LinkedIn is a surrealist caricature of corporate reality, but just imagine proudly displaying your #1 shill award for all to see

It's IBM. They leveraged synergies with the thought leaders they could reach out and touch base with.

One carousel quote literally ends with "Bib is a highly reliable partner."

Theres even one that says "Bib [sic] is a highly reliable partner."

It’s actually hard to sell anything to developers, it’s however much easier to do with executives and managers