Message board power?

[CharlesW]

Considering the interest in products generated by the hype on message boards, I was wondering how that impacts the marketing people.
Think about it for a minute.
Wax DG has a group of followers posting and sales surge.
Wax O has the same and their surge replaces DG.
Obviously maker Z has to have some publicity and the surge is his for a while.
Maker PB waits till they run their course and here he is.
FS is no doubt waiting in the wings.
Meanwhile, discussion is rampant about rinseless washes, new MF towels, grout sponges for washing, yadda, yadda.

I'm not talking about pimping or shills, just the actual feelings of the many people involved.
Can you imagine the puzzlement at Lowe's when the Porter Cable polishers couldn't be kept in stock for a while?
I wonder how many grout sponges are now laying on the shelf at Home Depot.
Car Quest probably has enough DG in stock for 5 years after the initial burst of sales.

Not that it is all bad, it just struck me as interesting.

The fact that is is 34 degrees and snowing has nothing whatsoever to do with my state of mind.

 

[cwcad]

I used to live for those flavor of the month surges. I have so many supplies at hand that all I have to do now is re-visit a product much like I did this date.

It was a chilly 46 degrees this morning. I did an S&W wipedown then used and old formula Spray on wax to make it shine again. It is nice to re-visit old products that have been sitting on the shelf collecting dust from a previous buying spurt from just such a scenerio.

 

[jayjacque]

It's a cycle: surge, splurge, then after several years purge. But then again some things really are revolutionary

 

[Jngrbrdman]

Everything changes so rapidly now. Seven or eight years ago it was just Klasse and Zaino that everybody talked about. Souveran was starting to give Blitz some competition and people were asking questions about this S100/P21S stuff. There wasn't much talk about Pinnacle, because they weren't that extraordinary. Four Star hadn't really done much yet and Platinum hadn't been released. Blackfire wasn't even a twinkle in Max's eye and David hadn't produced anything yet. Fast forward five years and there are half a dozen sealants fighting for board chatter along with several new message boards all doing the same thing. Board A loves for people to worship whatever the flavor of the moment is while board B is die hard loyal to one product. Board C comes along and doesn't get any traffic because nobody knows about them while board D lets people talk about whatever products they want. People sign up for all four forums and just kick back and watch the drama unfold.

Fast forward five more years and you'll see that Board A, B, and D are the only ones that still have traffic. The ones that couldn't get good sponsors or inspiring conversation just sit there and waste internet space. Forum A and D are really the only ones that thrive while new forum E shows up and only wants people to talk about what they sell. That strategy actually makes them a fairly popular board because they sell some great stuff.

The nice thing is that any which way you swing, there is always a board out there to check out. I'm sure the owners of these forums wouldn't waste money on them if they weren't profit centers. Autopia would be nothing without their message board. Eliminate that and David would be back writing technical manuals and wishing people would take better care of their cars.

I've been a part of the creation of two of the largest and best forums on the internet. I'm proud to see what they have done for the spreading of detailing knowledge throughout the world. It is something I could put on my resume if I wanted to. Whether they pimp the product of the hour or fuel the fire between solid product debates, it is all very interesting. As Rabbi says, these days I just choose to 'stay out of it' most of the time, but it is still very interesting.