I think that the pattern of making software as easy to use as possible refers to the amount of work users need to put in _before_ they actually start doing what the product is intended for (e.g. entering personal information). However, the users should definitely be doing work when it comes to the content of the product, as the article states. I think that, for example, the amount of work people put into uploading and commenting on photos on Facebook was part of the reason the switch to Google+ wasn't as big as anticipated -- users had too much of an investment in FB already.