It makes perfect sense, but there's a problem with this approach. The information in the passive profiles will be nothing new to most users, who already have their friends' contact info and an idea of what they all look like. So a pre-populated social network like the one you're talking about would be much closer to a phone-directory than anything truly "social."
And I know that passive profiles are supposed to be there as a crutch for early adopters, but it doesn't seem to add much in the way of value or positive UX. If anything, having the site start as a directory might just perpetuate its use as one.
And I know that passive profiles are supposed to be there as a crutch for early adopters, but it doesn't seem to add much in the way of value or positive UX. If anything, having the site start as a directory might just perpetuate its use as one.