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But if users don’t stay engaged then how would they retain?

And if they don’t retain...how would it be useful to anyone when none of their friends are on it?

It's possible for people to be engaged because their friends are interesting; rather than because the service is designed to grab attention.

I would upvote this more than once if I could. This is the most important argument for "reason of engagement" as it should be.

But how the tool they use to do so is designed matters!

If there is too much friction then people simply won't adopt it

Yes, UX matters, especially when you are a new platform trying to establish your initial user base. But nothing matters in social software as much as network effect; people want to be where their friends are (and/or where people they want to follow or be noticed by are). Like any social network, Scuttlebutt will grow from the edges, as people already using it onboard their friends and family members.

(I had more to say about this but I posted the longer version on Diaspora instead.)

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