There's one guy who's like the Bob Ross of pipes - very relaxing and also kind of hilarious.
A couple things not mentioned yet: Many, if not most, new pipe smokers didn't grow up around it. I know I've personally seen a grand total of 3 people pack a pipe in my life. Imagine trying to figure out how to load and smoke a pipe properly just from reading about it. Need something for those visual learners, especially with something so tactile. (I've personally never found anything very helpful on youtube, but that's another matter.) Another thing is that a lot of people don't have anybody to smoke with. There's a whole generation of kids whose babysitter, etc. was youtube, and a lot of the videos I've tried to watch seem to be set up as some kind of weird virtual social club for lonely pipe smokers. Sad, but true. Youtube is also where a lot of younger people learn how to do anything practical. Many of my (college-age) students wouldn't be able to change a lightbulb or finger a guitar chord without youtube.
All reasons to hope for improvement in the quality of youtube videos on pipe smokin.