THANK you Brian :) - Tamar Weinberg

Everyone looks at it one time and assumes it's too much to handle. Not sure why people feel like they have to take it all in. I never even go farther than page 1 - Rahsheen ™, Coach Rah

Interaction is what makes or breaks FF. Hopefully some of the less active people will realize that and become more involved (which will make the experience better for them).' - FFing Enigma (aka Tina)

I didn't like it all when I first started. It seems terribly overwhelming at first. - Michelle Martinez

The whole point is the conversation... if you aren't having any you are doing it wrong... IMHO - Brian Roy

@Tamar That group of hardcore users is growing and growing everyday. I'm continually finding more and more active people on Friendfeed whom I've never seen before - Shey, Jamaican of FF

It took me a while to get used to FF, too Tamar. Give the people a chance! ;) - Mona Nomura

just because they are following you doesn't mean you have said something today they feel is interesting enough to interact with... - Jeremy Toeman

Hi Tamar.. I haven't seen you in a while...good that you're back! :) - Susan Beebe

Probably because the number of people interested in actually using new technologies (early adopters) is probably much smaller than existing early adopters actually realize. - Tony Hung

I would not have ever started using friendfeed if it weren't for an invite from a real friend. I am very conservative in who I subscribe to, because of the friend of a friend feature. I like that, but I don't really want to subscribe to people like Scoble who follow so many people. Then my feed becomes less about my real friends, (and usually contains lots of stuff I am not interested in). - Robert Felty

I think FF would benefit greatly from a quick Video tutorial for new users or, at very least, a step-by-step tutorial giving the basics. That should help with people not feeling like it's too much. - Rahsheen ™, Coach Rah

A quick video tutorial would be nice, for sure. I know I was a bit overwhelmed when I first joined up. - Jon, the Chilled Beartato

Sometimes lurking is good too (FF is always a good source of information) and sometimes interaction comes on some topic of mutual interest and after a short observation. I am one of your new followers, nice to meet you :o) - Flavio

@Robert: I also started following only IRL friends, then enlarged the crowd. Friends list makes things easier, when you want to follow just a selection of people. - Flavio

I think some of us just kind of hang back telling ourselves to stop chewing our nails and go say 'hi' already until we're sure we're in the right place. That sorta thing. (Hi!) - techPR

It took me a few days of hanging back being completely intimidated by all of you geniuses before I worked up the courage to comment on a thread. - Ladybug Heather

Lurkers are everywhere.. - Uncle CW™

I think it takes people a little while to figure out just how FF works. Once I *got it* I was addicted and started poking my nose around everywhere on FF. - Derrick

Um, I am interacting...:} - Jean Ann Van Krevelen from twhirl

@Rasheen - I agree about the video. I know I mentioned that somewhere before. Also, it takes a minute to see how FF actually works. It can be real intimidating at first b/c there is so much info. Then you post up your own comment or link and NO ONE responds and you are like, "Maybe I don't belong here ...and maybe no one is listening to me" ... and all of a sudden, that little IM box pops up with a response. I do think the rooms are a good place to start to "build your FF confidence" ... common interests go a long way. - Amani

@Robert, you just made me realize I have no idea how I found out about Friendfeed. @Jonathan, has Lee Lefeever made a video for it yet? - Laura Norvig

Derrick, look where it got you.. - Uncle CW™

friendfeed is more for stalking not participating from what I've seen - Mark Edmondson

Hollow - Exactly the opposite, IMO. Try it out. - Steve Isaacs

Hollow, if I may be blunt: you're doing it wrong =D There is a *ton* of interaction on FF if one chooses to participate. - FFing Enigma (aka Tina)

does this mean I'm Hard Core? I've been applying the "scoble standard" and figured I was light weight - Bastard Operator From FF

Yes, you are hardcore. - Tamar Weinberg

I'm typically not that interested in what you've done other than the big picture. If the type of thing you post is of interest or value to me, I'll subscribe to you. However I only start interacting to items you post once your new stuff starts passing by my eyes. - Kenton

I blogged in the summer that Friendfeed is a stalking tool, but how many people actually USE it to stalk? The thing is that if people do, they'd be compelled (I'd believe) to participate. If they aren't participating, they probably aren't stalking either. - Tamar Weinberg

Robert must have some magic that makes his followers interact. Lurking is far more 'normal' than participating almost everywhere. It is the top thing moderators in forums used to complain about constantly. Many people don't feel confident enough to comment; they're too afraid of making a mistake or being thought foolish. (Too much schooling.) - Internet Strategist

@Gregory Your target audience of participants is smaller. Your comments aren't wasted. Many will read what you write (here and in your blog) and learn much; however, a larger percentage will not feel qualified intellectually to interact with you. - Internet Strategist

@Tamar - Tamar, I could really use your support of the Top Ten Favorite FriendFeed Friends Challenge. If you could possibly squeeze it into your schedule that would be great. You're on both my Top Ten and Derek's Top Ten lists. http://www.growmap.com/friendf... - Internet Strategist

yeah there are a lot of people who never comment...but there are some great users who make friendfeed a ton of fun! - (jeff)isageek

Those are separate issues, Tamar. I would assume after initially subscribing, they would come back to your feed later, not interacting right away. As for FriendFeed being too busy and limited to a hard core of people, there are definitely ways for FriendFeed to improve, and room for the audience to grow. - Louis Gray

Guilty! definitely one of those people that stop by once in a while - get overwhelmed by the info stream, read a lot of interesting topics and think "How do these people come up with all that, and what can I possibly add to the conversation"! - I guess that's a common feeling for newbies. Maybe as people new to friendfeed gets more used to the stream and care less about sounding stupid they come over this barrier and just participate. - Peter Efland

They get confused. I've literally sat with a LOT of people and walked them through different ways of enjoying the Friendfeed experience. First one to write a good eBook wins? :) - Charlie Anzman

Louis, I try to add people based on a number of comments and likes. I have to usually look at comments to ensure they're comments made on FF and not on social sites (e.g. share with note on Google Reader, delicious comment, StumbleUpon review). That shows they're active on FF. Most of these people subscribe and don't seem to have ANY FF activity at all (except pimping their own stuff). But hey, that's my observation. - Tamar Weinberg

To follow up, if the feed is empty with the exception of social sites they're active on, they're not real FF users. Those are the people I have issues with. I think people take the name of FriendFeed literally -- feed of your friends -- but they don't do anything else. Or know to. Or think to. Shrug. - Tamar Weinberg

Tamar, you are right, in that they are not "real users". While the pace everyone uses is up to them, those who easily go weeks without participating are not truly "active". I believe many folks are using FriendFeed as they would Google Reader. Why not stay in one place to get caught up on TechCrunch, Mashable, etc.? - Louis Gray

Louis, do you really think they're *using* FF though? I know sooo many people who signed up once and forgot that the site existed. - Tamar Weinberg

Tamar, while I am happy you received a bunch of followers, I am sorry that they are not interacting - which obviously I have been lacking myself seeing as how long it has taken me to respond here. - Derek Semmler

Tamar, this is why we need you to be writing about the various Social Networking sites. You have a much better feel for who is doing what where. If you post about it we can help spread the information. There are some really important things that FF has to add to keep people interacting and teach them how to use more of it. I want to hear more of what you know, Tamar. Which of the many blogs you write for is the best source for your thoughts on Social Networking sites? - Internet Strategist

@Derek, totally not your fault! It's happened long before you actually wrote the post and it's a gripe I have with users who just want to squat on their profile without really doing much else with it. @Internet Strategist, I wrote about FriendFeed a few times already on my blog (www.techipedia.com). You might want to try louisgray.com for real new stuff--that Louis guy is an early adopter. I'd also recommend Mashable and not because I work for them. :) There are many more -- use FF to find em! ;) - Tamar Weinberg