I've known about Nostr for a while, but it wasn't until I received my first few zaps in a "Hey everyone, I'm new here" #helloworld message that things clicked for me.
The potential to earn with Bitcoin and receiving it straight into your wallet with no middlemen, however small the amounts would be, was facinating to me and has captivated my imagination since.
Was I providing value to the world by simply saying hello? What things could I do to provide value? What could be the ways to give back to this circular economy? Could a few sats transform into something bigger than me? What things could be built atop this new idea?
It is dawning on me how impactful the combination of Nostr and Bitcoin can be. Open Source, built from the ground up for freedom. A community of people who genuinely care. There is so much there to explore and to understand. It feels like opening a book for the first time, using a computer for the first time, or encountering a new life-experience that has you going "wait, I think this is significant" and being immersed with that new feeling.
Right now two hastags in particular have me going back to read again and again. #grownostr and #asknostr
#grownostr seems to be a place of people who want to build different communities within Nostr. People chatting in its purest form, often not knowing each other at all and engaging with their whole self, unadulterated, honest, open.
Then there is #asknostr, which seems like stackoverflow but for everything, anytime, people with random requests and benevolent people willing to help. Potential conversation starters and a human connection for anyone who might be struggling with something, whether technical or not.
There are no rules, and this has both sides of the yin & yang. In many ways I kind of love this, the fact that everything "just exists". The fact that all the messages aren't filtered or adjusted, that everything is linearly posted and readable like that is amazing.
This is how Twitter used to be, how Facebook used to be. That energy is here again! Can we keep it like this, this time around? Will Nostr be able to do what the big corporations have failed to do? This constructive melting pot is exactly what I think we need in our society, somewhere where you can find a new perspective.
If you have read this far, thank you. Thank you for being here and doing what you do.
Replies (48)
🫂
It's beautiful watching new Nostriches grasp Nostr so quickly. We are winning 💜🫂🤙🏻
View quoted note →Its still useless as fuck!
#nostr
Glad your here. Enjoy the ride
You are providing value right now man . Thanks for the synopsis of your experience on Nostr, I always love hearing what people think and what the protocol means to different people.
Nostr clicked for me when I was permanently banned from twitter for suggesting parents rushing their kids of the hospital and being blocked by oil protesters, choose to run them over rather than risk their child's life or prolong their suffering.
Same exact experience. 8k sats in my wallet for just blurting out what's on my mind. =)
View quoted note →Great summary of how you might feel after joining Nostr:
View quoted note →
Welcome to Nostr!
#nostr lets you speak your mind without censorship.
All other social media by contrast tells you what to think.
The sad truth is that many will still prefer to be told what to think. But at least there is now a viable alternative for those of us who prefer to think for ourselves.
#grownostr
#thinkdangerously
Spot on.
People tend to be their genuine selves when they aren't constrained by so many rules and regulations.
The energy here is pure.
View quoted note →Welcome!!
thank you! and thank you for the generous zap! 5k? 😳
Glad you enjoy things here on #Nostr. Followed 🫂
you're welcome! I'm just speaking my mind 🙌
That is quite genuine in itself, that you can say what's on your mind. Of course not everyone has to agree, but you can at least say what you're thinking and leave it out there for people to read.
Acting on one's behalf isn't something we're thaught in school, which is why I think it's important we teach it to kids ourselves (and even to others around us).
🫂
Welcome to the most enjoyable place in the world
View quoted note →🫂🤲🏻💜
🫂
Followed for the long-form. I appreciate you taking the time to write about your personal experiences and I agree, it's like springtime internet. A breath of fresh air. A return to the optimism and sense of possibilities we all felt in the early days of internet and the dawn of social media.
Now thay we have a decentralized option... One that we, the people, can control... let's get it right this time around!
Great thoughts. Great note. 🤙🏼
Nice description of the #nostr rabbit hole...
View quoted note →
Nice write-up. Consider me someone from old Internet times when Web 1.0 was a thing. As much as I like #nostr, I have seen the same amount of excitement when Fediverse launched. But sadly it all faded away. And most people reverted back to Twitter though the loyal ones are still using it. The inherent problem with anything 'social' is: initially it's all good to chat with random people over newer ideas and make friends, but the 'network' becomes somewhat unusable when your 'real-world' friends don't show up there.
It was 2005 when all my friends were using Orkut sending 'scraps' and 'testimonials'. Then FB opened registration and I signed up. It was awesome playing 'games' and stuff there. But none of my Orkut friends joined. It became boring soon. Then, FB hit some big headlines and everybody jumped in. And look what happened to Orkut!
My point is Nostr needs some traction, some large scale media mention or something like that. Without that, I doubt people will stay here on this wonderful space.
Just my thoughts.
Your questions about providing value, contributing to a circular economy, and exploring the potential of a community-driven platform like this are exactly the type of thoughtfulness that sets you apart.
I agree wholeheartedly about the freshness and raw energy that Nostr seems to be bringing back into the social sphere. It reminds us all of the potential the internet has to foster connections, collaboration, and growth without unnecessary barriers. You've put it so beautifully.
Your reflections on #grownostr and #asknostr speak to the essence of what makes online communities meaningful, and I'm thrilled to see where this journey takes you and everyone involved.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I'm right here with you! 🚀💫
I hear you. I have used other platforms before that seemed to have potential (such as APP. NET) and have ultimately faded away.
How do you feel about the integration with Bitcoin in this case? This is something no other plaform has had in this fashion.
To me it seems rather unique with the potential to upend some of the mistakes of other social networks. What do you think?
Thank you, I appreciate you saying that 🙏
Let's do this 💪
I am afraid I have very little knowledge about bitcoin except that it grows faster than any currency and scalability is a serious issue.
Reddit once deliberated on turning reddit karma into a crypto but backed out later. So it's not really an innovative idea, but yes, first implementation yet.
As I said I am a dumbo about crypto but I have a question: if someone is sending sats via nostr, who is minng them? And why send coins to internet strangers? For funny memes? Am I missing something? #asknostr
Lots to unpack here….
1) Nostr is a protocol - whatever client you are on, your npub is interoperable. It is your private property.
Whether it’s a Twitch-like client, a Music Client, social client, etc… really can be anything as devs are imagining.
2) Bitcoin is sound money. Mining takes place every 10 minutes in blocks. Current block rewards are approximately 6 BTC which will be halved to approx 3 BTC next year. This will carry on halving every 4 years until the total supply reaches 21 million. Bitcoin can and will expand in the real world. Scalability has been solved by lightning network (layer 2 of Bitcoin). Just watch Zapathon.
The combination of both protocols is powerful. None are run by anyone entity. No CEO, No Company, No Gatekeepers. You are combining a free market of ideas with free money untethered to any sovereign entity and on an open and verifiable ledger.
Where relays come in is where any moderation can be taken place.
Ask me more. I’m here to help. This paradigm shift can be a bit challenging when relating to historical “platforms”
hey hey! 😉
crypto is not bitcoin. crypto is filled with scammers and charlatans trying to enrich either themselves or their VCs or their founders. bitcoin has no founders or VCs to enrich. crypto invents problems for them to try to solve, but in the end you don't need any of those. bitcoin and layers built on top of bitcoin to make bitcoin more scalable such as the Lightning network are all that you should focus on. Zaps on nostr run on top of the Lightning network. the Lightning network can handle more transactions than visa and mastercard 😉
As
@QW mentioned there is a lot to unpack in what you said. Both
@QW and
@Derek Ross already mentioned a lot of the benefits of Bitcoin so I'll concentrate on offering insight into your last question.
In some ways you could say the same thing about anything else in life such as life advice. Just because you can get something for free, doesn't mean it has no value.
The thing with #zaps is that there are no rules and that's the beauty of it too. It becomes a free market dynamic where anyone can decide what they think something else is worth through a one-way public benevolent act. Like kickstarter but on a very granular level.
I’m not sure #Nostr is social media with friends. I expect to treat #Nostr much more like business environment. Every post is a transaction.
The decorum is also much more like business communication and hence a lot less ideological or inflammatory.
I would also apply the same rules as in business. Be aware of fraud, honor your contracts, etc. Expecting this from friends can actually be problematic.
I would say #Nostr is offering a chance to interact with business partners and business friends on a different level of trust than that which is based on social cues.
I haven’t thought about this too much as I’m still parsing the developments and trying to find ways to contribute but that is the respectful vibe I see encouraged here.
So far I have noticed almost everyone I’ve interacted with here has many salient things and perspectives to offer that make the environment hospitable to business and production.
Thank you for your insight. I am an absolute noob with btc. I never really bothered about reading more about btc due to two reasons:
1. I do not have any real money to invest into btc.
2. Due to the above, i do not own powerful computing devices to mine btc.
However, I want to learn a bit more about it. Where do you suggest a complete beginner should head to in order to learn more about it? #asknostr I understand that there are tons of articles and videos available but I would like to know which of them provide _correct_ information. Since btc is a overwhelming topic and there are several entities involved, it is easy to get led to wrong information. I am more interested in authentic source.
One more thing I want to ask: your post mentions btc can and will be used as real money. Is this a speculation or does it have any foundation? I dont want to start flame war here nor do I want to sound rude but a genuine question: whenever new technology lands (I wont say btc is new, it should have passed the test of time by now), there are always radical ones who believe its the next big thing. I want to know how much of this is actually the truth and how much of it is just pure hype. The hype factor bothers me because I have seen many headlines claiming btc will fail and scalability is a serious issue and such stuff. But I dont know if this is click-bait.
I hope you wont take me as rude and understand the doubts of a beginner.
Read Inventing Bitcoin and 21 lessons.
Here are 70k EV charging stations that accept Bitcoin
Beyond that there are brick and mortar shops. Check
BTC Map
Easily find places to spend sats anywhere on the planet.
Online retail shops. Many here on Nostr.
Peer to peer transactions.
As for reading and learning. The Bitcoin Standard outlines the big picture well.
It’s not about “investing” as a high time preference was of thinking about things.
Bitcoin is about saving, buy when you can, dollar cost average over a long period of time. Low Time Preference.
Converting your mindset to the long game will humble your day to day.
Thank you. Both look very exhaustive and informative.
Best part of Bitcoin and Nostr… it’s a world of learning because it’s a new paradigm. Nostr in general is a new frontier.
At the end of the day. We all want a better world.
Thank you for putting beautiful words to a beautiful time and scene!
Your comparison to the early days of Twitter and Facebook raises an important question about how to maintain the integrity and energy of the platform as it grows.
Decentralization, transparency, and community-driven governance may be key factors in preserving the ethos of Nostr. Engaging the community in decision-making and ensuring that the platform remains true to its foundational principles will be essential.
Borrowing an idea from #Bitcoin (and #Bittorrent), I think the longevity of #nostr lies in the protocol.
The interesting thing about digital governance is that it hasn't been proven yet and I would argue that we don't know yet what form of governance is essential for a platform like Nostr and whether it is needed.
I see eye to eye with you on ensuring the foundational principles remain true in the future, which leads me to wonder... #asknostr what are Nostr's foundational principles?
Such an amazing take on #Nostr 🫂💜
Such an amazing take on #Nostr 🫂💜
View quoted note →
