First of all, after discussing HamWAN with Scott Honaker in the first two months of this year, I went to the Puyallup "Mike & Key" show for the explicit purpose of checking out HamWAN.  It wasn't easy;  after walking both floors,  I returned to the show management table and asked for the HamWAN table location.  After locating the table, I was surprised to a bunch of used stuff for sale (just like all the other tables), a few flyers, and a "funny looking" radio.  Of course, having seen the radio that Scott had, I knew what to expect, but for someone just roaming the aisles, it was easy to miss what was there, even if someone had an interest in data radios.

When I exhibited at Puyallup several years ago, I was demonstrating my own (free) D-Star radio and not selling anything.

If you are going to interest people in HamWAN, you've got to have a better physical "presentation" of equipment.  You're aiming at a narrow-enough audience (those interested in digital data) as it is;  you've got to have something attracts interest, and as a result, gets the message out that high-speed data is possible for a $200 investment.  Don't try to sell anything;  simply say that the web site describes how to find the equipment.  Have setup and working equipment there (see below for my interest in portable demo equipment).

Second, have pictures on the HamWAN web site of the radio/modem, and especially the antennas (with dimensions).  No one likes to click on a bunch of manufacturer links to get a first impression of what a setup would look like.  Even now I don't know (because I haven't taken the time to drill down through the various links and compare them) what alternative antennas are available.  That's even since I have some interest in buying two more radios and setting them up for portable demos, with antennas that are of manageable size for portable demos (diameter about one foot).  One can always explain that best results are with a bigger antenna (a concept not unknown to amateur radio).

Third, and perhaps the most important, develop some "use cases" and document them to generate interest.  As Tom pointed out above, replacement of one's general-purpose ISP is not a use case.  Emergency communications, with clearly-described capabilities (both now and in the future), would be useful.  The ability to communicate with a local DEM is a plus.  Nowhere in the flyer does it mention that the SnoCo DEM is a major node.  That information is very helpful, even if one is not interested in the SnoCo DEM, because it shows that a local EOC has bought into the concept with funding and an established node.  This implies that it is less likely for HamWAN to disappear if the leaders lose interest (like has happened in Connecticut to another part of the 44.x.x.x network).  No one wants to be an orphan;  document who is involved.  List on the web site who (with their permission) has a working setup.  Post pictures of working sites (nodes and users)!  I know the list is small now, but amateurs like to talk to other amateurs who have taken the plunge.  In this regard, push reading the mailing list archives.

ps: Monday at 5pm my next-door neighbor removed some tree roots near our common boundary, and cut through my Frontier fiber-optic cable.  At first I thought, you have HamWAN.  Then, I realized that almost everything I do over the Internet (except browsing) uses SSL:  eMail, filing my IRS tax return, updating my server database with live D-Star usage data.  A quick drive to the local Comcast office, and I had high-speed Internet ($40/mo) access by 7pm.  Yesterday Frontier laid a temporary replacement fiber cable above ground (that should get buried within two weeks), and I have normal fiber optic service again.  So, I now have three gateways to the Internet (four, if I can ever connect to the K7LWH D-Star DD node).  Yes, I'm keeping the Comcast link.