nextblock

Watch our founders today at 12:55 EST on nostrvalley.com! View quoted note →

Bitcoin lets us think before we build. The Blueprint and Foundation are complete. Billboard is coming soon.

We don't need Nostr to pay people Bitcoin to watch ads. But we do need Nostr to prevent big tech from co-opting the solution. We could have built Billboard as just another centralized ad platform that pays people in Bitcoin. But that would have been vulnerable to the same problems that plague current advertising: platform lock-in data control eventual monopolization Instead, we're using Nostr as the foundational data layer for attention marketplaces. People publish their attention prices and preferences as public Nostr events attached to their private key. This creates transparent, immutable consent records that any developer can read and build competing marketplaces from. The PROMO Protocol is like HTTP for attention marketplaces - anyone can implement it, preventing any single entity from controlling the system. This approach is better because it creates true decentralization: attention sellers own their private key and pricing data, advertisers can read public signals directly, and the marketplace data is open and uncontrolled by any single entity. Instead of building another platform that could be co-opted, we're building the infrastructure that makes big tech's business model obsolete. This is like using the internet protocol not just for websites, but for creating an entirely new economic system where attention is property, not a resource to be extracted.

Why zapping won't pay the bills, yet Value4Value can't work if people are protective of their Bitcoin. Some value it too highly to zap creators regularly. NextBlock's Attention Marketplace fixes this by creating a sustainable Bitcoin faucet for Nostr. People earn Bitcoin by watching ads, then zap creators. This creates a self-reinforcing circular economy where attention generates value, and that value flows to creators. Instead of hoping for a few generous patrons we're building the infrastructure that makes everyone a potential funder. #grownostr

Nostr doesn't need another client. Nostr needs a business model. Developers build clients for free, people get free social media, but there's no economic incentive to keep the ecosystem healthy. This creates a fragile foundation where clients can disappear, relays can shut down, and the network depends on volunteer labor. Instead of building another client that competes for people, we're building the first business model that makes Nostr economically sustainable. The attention marketplace creates real economic value by turning attention into a trackable commodity with real-time pricing every Bitcoin block. Our approach creates a sustainable economic model for decentralized social media. People get paid for their attention, creating real value. The more people participate, the more valuable the marketplace becomes. Anyone can build competing marketplaces using the same data. Economic activity creates demand for reliable infrastructure. This isn't about competing with existing clients - it's about creating the economic foundation that makes the entire Nostr ecosystem more valuable, not just another free client that depends on volunteer labor. #grownostr