An idea, a vision, a prototype, a marketing plan, and a reality check

The idea: Make managing Gift card balances an easy process<p>The vision: Create a Mint.com type solution that would allow a single click of a "Refresh" button to update all your Gift card balances in a matter of seconds<p>The prototype: http://www.giftcardmate.com - Gift Card Mate<p>The marketing plan: Thanksgiving Gift card giveaway to entice people to sign-up to at least try the service (depositing the Gift card prizes to the winning contestant's Gift card mate account).<p>The reality check: No matter what your idea, vision, or marketing plan, the consumer is the ultimate test of product viability.<p>Unfortunately the consumers have spoke since I managed to only sign-up 4 users in the past month and a half. Granted I'm not that good at marketing but I'll chalk this one up as a lesson none-the-less.<p>Cheers!