I first want to say that I totally enjoy Snapzu as it is right now, and I don't want to change that. This is just a recommendation that you have no obligation to follow.

I'm mostly a lurker. I don't plan on submitting much and just want to enjoy the content that's already been submitted. The main reason why I created an account was so that I could join tribes and follow relevant interests. One of the main things that I like about snapzu is your exclusivity. Using invites is a good way to keep the community from growing too large too quickly. This exclusivity isn't impossible to overcome, so joining isn't impossible, just made more difficult. Patient people are most likely to join, and that's a good trait to breed into the user base.

So I was wondering, how could we make it easier for lurkers like me to join, while still incorporating the exclusivity that you currently offer? How about you allow people to create accounts that can join tribes and tailor their experience, but require full accounts for people to vote, submit, and comment? I know that right now, lurkers can just stay without accounts, but allowing them some way to customize their experience might make them more willing to join and stay.