I received the following email today which appears to come from LinkedIn’s Research team. It sells a bit phishy to me…

Firstly, if this is genuine, why did I not receive a message in my LinkedIn inbox?

Secondly, talk of remuneration always sets off alarm bells in my head. Participants in this kind of study would generally take part out of a genuine sense of willingness to provide feedback rather than need tempting b three different denominations of carrots disguised as £5, £20 and £55.

Finally, the following phrase definitely gives me goosebumps (and not the Scarlett Joahansson kind):

“In order to participate in these two additional studies, you must be on at least a 56 kbps internet connection, using Windows 98 or higher and Internet Explorer, and you may need to download a browser plug-in to participate. This survey is not available for Mac or Linux users.”

…and the following email header doesn’t instill confidence either:

What are your thoughts? Have you been approached?

Comments below please.