When a group of engineers at National Instruments Corp. modified a 1988 Oldsmobile so it could be controlled by an iPhone, the company was quick to share the project on its online forum for customers.
A spouse “might not care about it, but our community eats it up,” said Deidre Walsh, community and social media manager for National Instruments, a supplier of automation and computer measurement tools.
The Austin, Texas, company has a fostered dedicated online group of 125,000 engineers and scientists with do-it-yourself projects.....