Audi & Mercedes-Benz Automotive Forums: Communities of Knowledge
I choose to investigate a couple automotive forums because of my background in the automotive industry. The automotive brands I selected to cover I have extensive experience with and therefore could easily follow and take part in conversations without feeling like an outsider. I have used these in the past for research as part of my job and they can be extremely educational and are full of knowledgable individuals who enjoy assisting other with mechanical problems. Most of the forums cover technical matters that may not be available through a Google search, while a select few simply contain banter from individuals ascertaining their opinions as to what vehicles are superior to others.
I specifically investigated the Audi forum which encompasses all of its cars, but also focused a majority of my attention on the Audi A4 forum whose topics surrounded discussing mechanical issues everyday people have encountered and ways to remedy those problems. I also spent some time on the Mercedes-Benz forum and the people in this community were much more focused on the mechanical aspects of the vehicles than Audi enthusiasts. The biggest between the two was while on the Audi forum, I rarely encountered a conversation where both members were knowledgable about the topic. The Mercedes-Benz forum seemed to be much more opinion-based and resembled more of an ongoing conversation with a high use of technical jargon. Due to the different types of online communities I conversed in, I was therefore able to receive a good mix of both.
My overall impression of the communities was positive. They are fantastic for sharing information and sometimes you begin taking part in a community without any direction other than just to connect, but the knowledge that can be obtained through an informative online community like this is very helpful. On the Audi A4 forum, the answers were usually in response to individuals complaining about a certain vehicle and the problems they were encountering. The subjects listed in the Audi forum that included technical information usually were for older models. These were individuals searching for specific answers or shortcuts to a solution. It was very comparable to the Chicago Law Bulletin ListServ where people, usually lawyers in that particular forum, posted questions and answers to prior questions in hopes of helping one another out. I provided my input on some of the issues by posting comments in general terms as my technical knowledge of how an engine works is somewhat limited. However, I am well-versed in taking that information and framing it in ways so a novice could understand the mechanical problem and the downside to not correcting it, which is exactly what I did. I found a post from one member responding to a question posted by another user regarding a 2008 Audi A4 and how the navigation system was operated. The original response to the question was chalk-full of technical jargon and based on the original question, I safely assumed the individual in search of the answer was not to mechanically experienced. I saw this as a perfect opportunity to provide my input so I rephrased that answer provided in a way someone lacking automotive experience would understand. This instantly made me feel important to the community and its members. Another exchange of knowledge occurred between two members and was in reference to the heavy amount of brake dust build-up on the Audi A4 front wheels.
One of the hotly debated topics in this particular forum was engines burning excessive amounts of oil. People would post warnings such as, “…Don't purchase a 2006 Audi A4 2.0T”. They would then explain their reasoning by providing a list of issues they had encountered during their ownership of said vehicle. Some individuals would counter these negative claims by stating their loyalty to Audi and provide examples to support their reasoning. This forum is useful to people who want more than just a cookie cutter response that they may receive from a dealership employee or by calling customer service. Most of the community members seemed to have some sort of automotive experience or at the very least a will to learn. I introduced myself at one point, stating I was performing research on how an online community interacts. I included my experience working for Audi and was almost immediately bombarded with questions regarding when new models were being released and also criticism about the company and its products. I added my two cents about certain topics that I had knowledge on, but kept to myself about most other subjects. One interesting anecdote I found was if an individual posted inaccurate information, they were instantly corrected and them labeled as uneducated or uninformed on the topic. Any time thereafter that the individual posted anything, others would disregard it because their knowledge and credibility had already been questioned.
The Mercedes-Benz forum was of the friendlier variety and its. This forum was filled with technical jargon, but at the same time seemed to be mostly made up of car enthusiasts who simply enjoyed showing support for the vehicles and asking ridiculously complex questions about obscure cars. It seemed like a friendlier crowd and upon my introduction, I was asked my opinion on certain models as well as questions pertaining to the brand itself. There was a Mercedes-Benz forum specifically tailored to McLaren and in this forum, the conversations primarily focused on YouTube videos that had been posted showing certain vehicles racing. There was one instance/conversation that included some light-hearted ribbing about one member’s vehicle and its performance, but that was the harshest I saw. As I stated earlier, this community was much more opinion-based and conversations longer than a simple Q&A took place. There were solid facts backing up some of the claims too. The posts that seemed outlandish received very little attention. The Mercedes-Benz forum seemed friendlier, and the people participating in this community showed a willingness to engage in positive dialogue as opposed to criticizing someone’s lack of knowledge. While I’m sure there are online communities devoted to the Q&A format and understand how that is beneficial, I personally prefer the Mercedes-Benz online community as it helped foster a sense of family. Members supporting another’s statement or idea were seen to have bonded with that member over a similarity of opinion.
I’m quite confident these communities have members that range from master technicians to people who lack the knowledge of how to add windshield washer fluid. That is the beauty of these online communities. As long as you are interested in the topic being discussed, your comments and opinions for the most part are welcome. That welcoming feeling increases the popularity of the communities and draws additional people to them. Many individuals might view these communities as a ‘black market’ for knowledge on a topic and there is nothing wrong with that. In these communities, members have the ability to remain anonymous in order to avoid looking not knowledgable while at the same time, getting the information they signed up to receive. People want to hear the experiences of other individuals using a product they might invest in and no one knows the positives and negatives of a product better than those who have owned it.
Bibliography
Automotive Forums, Audi, A4. http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/forumdisplay/
Automotive Forums, Mercedes-Benz, McLaren. http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/forumdisplay/
Automotive Forums, Mercedes-Benz. http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/forumdisplay/
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