I think that's only within the tech-elite/tech-aware communities.

I believe this kind of strategy still piques the interest of "regular folks" - in the same way that "buying virtual goods" is kinda cliche and unappealing for most of us on HN, yet the mainstream world still does it.

This might even be an advantage for LaunchRock's customers - getting a healthy mix of early adopters, tech insiders AND passionate + well connected 'normal folks' to try out the customer's beta.