Can I at least get a preview before I give away my credentials (say, do you support openID?)
What is so awesome about your site (how do I spell it anyway >.<)?
What does it offer better than dreamwidth, facebook, or twitter?
Understand that I want to get ROI on my signups at this point: I don't join sites just to join, or out of boredom.
Or, to put it another way: market at me; I see nothing to make me stick around your site.
We use the term "easier than" because only you can decide if it is better. I haven't used dreamwidth so no comment. Twitter and Facebook are gigantic successfull companies doing great work. For the "communication with your friends"-wise our product is easier to use.
Your ROI could be easier and more direct communication with your friends. On Tusulog you cannot broadcast to all your friends at once, only to the specific group you choose. So you don't worry about "if I post this my mom/boss/ex may see too!". This may not be a problem for power users but most people don't know how to tackle those complex privacy settings.