The main problem with HIVE is that it's very insular and requires a lot of research and time to understand just the tech of it

It's so true.
When I introduced Hive to my friends, I told them about @ecency first as ecency UI/UX is easy to use.
When they get familiar with ecency, I will tell them more about Hive.
Step by step and it worked.
If I shared a lot about Hive at the beginning, people may not want to stay until the end of my sharing :)