The Pipe Bit: Technology, Twitter and Tobacco

Special thanks for this post to:  Rich at Cultured Leaf, Sculpted Burl,  Trey and the pros at Cigars Anonymous, and Jeff, Trish, Tamara and Caroline.

By Chris Rentner    

About two weeks ago, Windows 7 was released.  You probably missed it–the company that produces Windows, Microsoft, is a rather small start-up–but it was big news in the geek community and made the lives of tech gurus like Leo Laporte even more difficult (“Do I have to have my computer on to run Windows 7?”, etc. etc.).

     A good time, then, to consider tech and tobacco.  In my lifetime, the biggest technological change has been the Internet, and it has also had a serious impact on tobacco.  As  Trey from the Cigars Anonymous blog (link above) notes,

“It is safer to move to the Internet to pitch products and information than it is in a physical store because too many states have made cigars too expensive.  Internet prices are cheaper because vendors can play with the margins more since the market online is huge.  Mom and pop shops are being driven out of business because of taxes and people naturally turn to the Internet.”  As I work for Big Tobacco in a brick and mortar business, I find this comment disturbing but correct.  The variety and ease of ordering tobacco on the Internet does indeed give online sales an advantage, but there is also something to be said for the traditional ways of selling leaf–while talking with people about this subject, the phrase “face-to-face” came up a lot.  The personal touch, in other words.  And, while you can see a picture of the physical product on a web site, you can’t feel it or sample it.  But there are many sites for buying tobacco…and less and less physical stores.

     Ideally, the ‘Net compliments the physical store.  For example, you can find reviews of any pipe tobacco blend, and this can certainly help with picking out what you may like.  The more (correct) information, the better, and the Internet provides this.

     Then there’s Twitter.  Founded by Jack Dorsey and publicly launched in August of 2006, Twitter is right now probably the most popular networking tool in the world.  Within the limit of 140 characters per message, or “tweet,” users send messages to the people who follow their feeds.  These messages can then be read on your computer, cellphone, or any internet device.  Rich from the excellent Cultured Leaf, Sculpted Burl blog (link above) informed me that “It’s a great way to keep abreast of everything from eBay pipe auctions to fashions in tobaccos to tobacco-related legislation.”  So Twitter, too, is another Internet tool to add to a smoker’s arsenal.

     But in talking to people (face-to-face), I have found that Twitter has a serious PR problem.  It boils down to two things:

–”Why would I want to know what somebody has for lunch?”

–”Why would I want to tell everybody what I had for lunch?”

     These sentiments came from everyone I talked to, although people I contacted over the Interwebs seem more accommodating to the idea and use of Twitter. 

     Tech is with us, and won’t go away.  You can smoke in your home while browsing the web, which has been compared to eating in front of the television–something to do while you are doing something else.  But you can’t smoke in the coffee shop with the wifi hotspot; tech yes, but smoke no.

     And just to note:  computers aren’t really friendly to smoke, as delicate components may be damaged or affected.  But tech is friendly to smoke in other ways–as Eric Clapton said, it really is in the way that you use it.

Dottle:  Speaking of tech, the new Pipeman Calabashi app is on the way for the iPod Touch and iPhone…when you do stop in our brick and mortar store, be sure to try our new sweet and smoky Raider blend…the New York flavored tobacco ban does in fact now include pipe tobacco.