To what degree does the online audience reflect the pipe smoking community?

[deathmetal]

This came up in another thread, where a user estimated that the users of this forum constitute approximately 1% of the pipe smoking community.
In my experience, online communities are doubly deceptive. First, the users who are visibly active are a small percentage of the people reading; second, the vast majority of people never participate in anything public online.
How influential are we in the wider world of pipe smoking? Are "we" a group, or do we divide into smaller groups of pipe hobbyists (collectors, cellarers, Royal Yacht obsessives)?
Interesting questions to contemplate. Could it be that just 300 internet maniacs are buying out all the Penzance (which is really a rebranded Mixture 79)?

 

[mso489]

What do I know? I'd guess:

1) Online tobacco pipe interested people break into segments, the regular smokers, the occasional smokers, the ebay (etc.) buyers and sellers that sometime overlap with the others -- so the group is deeply segmented, not uniform at all.

2) The Forums and other interactive "chat group" people are slightly to a lot more likely to smoke non-aromatic blends than the general pipe smoking public based on the fact that there are so many aromatic blends being sold and relatively fewer posts relate to them on chat groups. That's my guess; feel free to say otherwise, and why.

3) The online pipe community is more prone to read and write than the general public, since that's required.

4) I surmise the online pipe community tends to be somewhat better off, to have the time to participate and the discretionary money to buy pipes and tobacco.

5) I'd guess the pipe chat groups provide some information/data for retailers, online and off, and tobacco blender companies. How seriously do they take us? Probably seriously, but they realize that we aren't the whole consumer base, so we're a focus group but not an intense marketing survey.
Those are my guesses. Next?

 

[prairiedruid]

Online forums provide people with the ability to camouflage themselves; for some that makes them more truthful, not so for others. An example would be the fact that I'm not actually a wolf in "real" life.

 

[aldecaker]

Well, duh. You're obviously a Druid who lives on the prairie. Everybody knows screen names have to be true. It's an Internet Law.

 

[mso489]

Actually, I'm a pipe-smoking hamster but I took a photo of this weird hat-wearing guy as an avatar.

 

[cortezattic]

There are probably lots of guys who rotate between a couple of Grabows, tamp with their thumbs, and never smoke anything but 1-Q.

They don't read need reviews, advertising, collector chit-chat and industry news. Couldn't care less about online communities.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

This may be referencing me. I cannot say exactly what percentage, as I don't have access to Kevin's stats. But, in my reality, of the guys who walk into the Briary, where I hang out in my leisure time, and am now, of the dozens of guys I meet in a day, and hundreds i meet in months, none of them visit this forum. Most are all day smokers, some are beginners, and some are occasional smokers. This is a store that sees guys come and go in droves all day long. I will shake hands and talk to whomever seems open, and forums usually come up when we start talking about tobaccos. I have met no one who is on this forum. Except Lawrence, and he just fell off the map when I started on this forum. I am the only one from my pipe club. And in New Orleans at the Pipe show, I met those that I knew would be there and a few more, but there were many many more that I met that did not use the forum. My area has many pipe smokers that I see every day, and Alabama is well represented here, but it is just a very small fraction of the many I see in restaurants and passing by in cars smoking pipes. Our mayor, police chief, and three area fire marshals all smoke pipes all day. And, I have several friends that I talk to frequently just within a mile of me that smoke pipes. So, this is where I came up with 1%.
So, my estimate is merely a crude percentage based on my experiences.
I am not widely travelled, so it very well could be that everyone else on the forum makes up the greater percentage of pipe smokers. But, I really really hope not.

 

[darwin]

There are a lot of pipe smokers, percentage wise, in the advanced age category and as a group they participate in all things webbish at a lower rate than the gen. pop.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

And, it could be that having a pipe shop culture here feeds the smokers here in a way that some guys who are isolated from pipe shops and pipe clubs just don't get outside of a forum. When you have Skip and the characters at the Briary to carouse with about tobacco, there may not be a need to seek it on a forum. Just a guess. But, then that probably just makes me a forum whore, ha ha!!

 

[gloucesterman]

I'm not sure 1% is the right number but I doubt it's much higher than that. In the on-line world, it's the true devotees that take to the internet in search of more. That is pretty much true of about any subject out there. In the case of pipe smokers that's probably doubly true because so many in that demographic just smoke a pipe and don't think much about it. The break point seems to be when the subject becomes more than just a habit or behavior and becomes more of what I think of as an "Experience". That is the doer wants to expand his/her knowledge and understanding of the subject. Also to some degree members want to connect with others when there is few in your area to share the experience with. The two exceptions in the pipe smokers world that seem true are that new comers often seek out forums, largely I think because so many of the B&M are now gone and as a result there is an information vacuum. And secondly guys that do restorations. They're always looking to improve their understanding and skills. But that group is a small % of the overall participating members but is a high percentage of those doing restorations. That is, of the overall number of people doing restorations the number that also participate in a forum (or several) is quite high.

 

[warren]

I think 1% is a very high estimate, if by community (I did not see the original post) it references all smokers of pipes. There are only 1300+ members listed (I have no idea when it was last culled) as of now. Of course the general membership can be subdivided into all sorts of of classifications. I'd bet, should a reader wish to break down the membership, there could be a singular classification for each member.
I suspect I would be the only retired police officer of Irish extraction, living in Alaska, 60+, with a mustache, smoking only bent pipes, suffering from "roids, who enjoys smoking "Brown Irish Twist."
Cosmic is in a group by himself for many reasons. Most importantly he gets to hang around a smoke shop and has friends. :worship:

 

[rhoadsie]

Based on the discussion on this forum, I would say most members here have a graduate degree, Masters at minimum, but probably PhD for most in pipe smoking and tobacco.
As I alluded to in a previous thread, most pipe smokers visit a B&M for their preferred tobacco and have no idea of the fervor surrounding some of the unicorn tobaccos we chase.
In any event, I have no idea of the actual percent this forum members represent of the pipe smoking population but I suspect it is very small, perhaps less than 1%.

 

[brudnod]

This is my only contact with other pipe smokers. What is the denominator?

 

[fitzy]

There are a lot of people that smoke pipes and never go online to look at pipe related shit. My brother for example smokes only one specific black cavendish blend in a cob. He buys at his local B&M and has been doing so for 20 years. He has never looked for anything pipe related online.
The one comment I do have to make about online communities is that if it wasn't for them I think we would have no problem buying penzance. Although most would probably know nothing about it. :puffpipe:

 

[iamn8]

So wait... There are other smokers besides those who are here? Are you certain? That's madness!!

 

[cortezattic]

It's been a few years since Kevin did any boasting, but back when, this site was getting many thousands of unique hits per day.

The active forum participants constituted a miniscule percentage of the visitors.

 

[fitzy]

Lots of lurkers. :crazy:

 

[cortezattic]

Ya, that; and lots probably come for the links to e-tailers.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

We did a survey last year. Turns out we are all significantly more well-endowed than the average member of the pipesmoking community. Thats why they call us "members".* The "preferred members" have been particularly blessed.
* The one exception being members of pipesmagazine who smoke Lane aromatics; they are at least 4 inches below average.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

People are... :::gulp::: ...watching us? :|