One of the internet forums which I use a lot was closed due the April's fools day. I realized how much I waste my time just by reading all the very unimportant “information”. How have the internet forums changed my view to my hobby, which is in this case cycling. I would say this topic can be applied to many other passions too. Online discussion forums have changed the way of my behaviour a lot; sometimes to the better direction and many times not. It is pretty hard to imagine just to skip reading those forums even it probably would be a good thing to do. At least sometimes.
The Good
I started my fabulous hobby quite many years ago. Back then I would had appreciated if there would had been information as easily available than nowadays. Now you just have to click your browser open and use a bit Google to find basically whatever information you need to get started. Weather you are finding a new mobile, tablet, camera etc. you can be sure that there are some geeks who have spend a lots of time to test and review the latest equipment. And they are ready to share their experience to others in various forums. How easy is that? No need to find a nerd to help you from your “actual” community. Your access to information just gained from your friends and family to the people who have internet and opportunity to get goods tested; which you are interest from. Forums offers platform for discussion which makes them more reliable than single experiences. Since community is able to judge if given information is valid or not. Something similar than academic research, not as strict though but some sort of control is given by contributors. Last but not least; who wouldn't enjoy to be part of some bigger community?
Practical or concrete things are often pretty hard to explain by writing. You won't probably be much better rider even you have read an article or followed discussion about how to do some trick. This could be one of the reasons why the discussion in forums often falls into the technical stuff and equipment in general. This community is as well quite a different than community which surrounds you in everyday life. All the freaks around the globe have came together with similar interests or passions. They are able to produce very valuable information but at the same time at least I often forget that I'm surrounded by these freaks. Some sort of realism starts do disappear quite often. Societies needs some “glue” to hold them together, symbols for example, discussion forums are no exception and there exists similar norms than every other societies. These norms create “right” answers to certain questions. Anonymity makes hard to find who is really an expert and who's not. In case of cycling it seems that there are actually two different hobbies; cycling itself and then “cycling” in discussion forums. Which is not necessary bad thing but these two fields have barely nothing to do with each other.
The Ugly
Marketing in the era of web 2.0 has found this channel as well. Resent survey seem to claim that people trust more to recommendations of their friend or “friends” in social media than traditional adds. When using a bit google you will find lots of information how to behave in discussion forums as a “secret marketing person”. It would be naïve to think that companies wouldn't use this kind of opportunity especially when advertising costs are next to nothing. For collective intelligence this might not be the best model when some of the writers have their salaries on their minds.
I mentioned that bulletin boards have almost none links to the actual hobby but they must have at least some, don't they? Smaller manufacturers have taken an advance of world wide test opportunities. They have came to the forums with their own names and let persons give public feedback from their products. It gives you some confident when you almost know the person who designs products which you use. Feedback is helpful for designer too. These world wide specific forums have important role of creating trends (yes they exists also in cycling). They are able to rank distributors and share their knowledge about technical things, which is sometimes very useful. More local bulletin boards have function of organising group rides and so on. Obliviously internet forums and practices of hobby have some interaction with each other. And discussing or writing from the topic of your interest is more fun than playing solitaire, isn't it?
Ilpo Mikonmäki
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