It seems too much like work now.
It is, especially when you first set them up. Afterwards, it depends how you play. If you play exclusively yourself, it is more like a job... And I wouldn't like that either.
All these conferences that Hive is at ought to result in some sign-ups, but I've not heard of many.
You have a point. However, the 2nd reason for being at such conferences is to promote Hive as a business opportunity. Initial contacts for B2B potential ventures, or entrepreneurs, or developers becoming interested, more than sign-ups of regular users.
But I'm not sure how much of that we have at these conferences either.