I do not get the obsession with waitlists over actual engagement. 

Lots of founders are always touting how their waitlist is so insane. Who cares? That's based on pure narrative. How about people actually using your product and getting value.

IMO you shouldn't talk about waitlists, but rather about usage & value.

Building https://srcbook.com // creator of the https://blockchainsmokers.xyz

I can see it as a metric worth sharing before you have usage or actual product validation. “Look how many people are interested”. Once the product is launched, waitlist talk turns to usage and retention talk.