@hq That's not necessarily true. There are plenty of people who end up using this stuff out of curiosity, and they end up ultimately sticking around and providing a solid foundation for community. Early Adopters.
Very few of my meatspace friends use federation - very few of them use GNU/Linux, either. But I've made many friends here that had something to give to this space. It's akin to something like online forums, where closely-knit connections emerge out of shared interests and discussions.