It’s a good point, but I think there’s a caveat. G-Wave, like Twitter, FB, and the others, become useful at the point where users begin connecting in a real way within the platform; or at a higher level, when the platform rewards the new user in a tangible way. If you go into the signup process without a clear purpose of what you’re trying to accomplish, you’re bound to be left with the “what now?”

Unfortunately, that’s how most of us go in. [Example - I went into LinkedIn with the explicit purpose of recruiting a couple of specialists and was rewarded with the functionality for that task. I went into Twitter to see what the hype was all about, and was left guessing.]

Perhaps the answer is the platform should reward the new user in some substantial way on enrollment. Make sure the site provides a needed service, and does it well right away. The first time. Or perhaps show the user, in simple terms, the benefit to them of recruiting their friends and co-workers to the platform (something I don’t think we’ve seen from G-Wave).

Basically, if you want us to think your platform rocks, prove it the first time.

Another great post Chuck.

All IMHO,

David.

But if you google for Wave and “Pulp Fiction”, there’s a mildly amusing demo of its utility