"My friends aren't here";
I wonder do we need success in just a single geographic region first rather than trying to be global from the start. Facebook started in Harvard alone, then other colleges etc. It was very much geographically concentrated, as real world friends usually are.
"It's hard to imagine an 8-year-old using it."
That's true but hardly our demographic. The financial aspect of Hive will skew things older by default, even without the crypto element. Other social networks have done ok targeting limited demographics (and not teens) at first. Pinterest, Reddit for example.
Many social networks first became popular in particular geographical areas, not only FB, but also Telegram, WeChat and others.
Here at Waivio, we're launching rewards for Vancouver restaurants:
https://www.waivio.com/rewards/all and a number of guides learn how to use Hive and create new listings on the chain.
Waivio also offers guest access (Google or Facebook), so users can learn the details of Hive at their own pace.
We are currently working on an instant rewards withdrawal system, so users can be assured that rewards are real and can be used in everyday life, including payments in all other major cryptocurrencies (BTC, LTC, ETH) and even cashing out rewards via any Bitcoin ATM.