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nostr is still mainly used alongside twitter. in the best rare case, as a replacement. and only because people are running away from something about twitter they don't like. there is nothing that people want to run to nostr for yet. zaps were promising, but bitcoin is still a hurdle (one that primal is doing the best at overcoming), and it's doubtful lightning could scale to a massive adoption moment. nostr needs a feature or experience that's unique and sets it apart. i *think* that is the ecosystem of microapps over the long term...but it's definitely not in the short term. and that might be ok. for twitter the initial draw was the simplicity and weirdness of 140 characters (we started with zero network effect, facebook had it all...that's built over time). later it became the conversation which lead to the "public square" (owned by a private corporation ยฏ\_(ใƒ„)_/ยฏ). and then as it grew, it had a single point of control/failure people could attack. nostr doesn't have to worry about that last bit. it's an incredible feature. but not one the average person cares about (no matter how much they yell "FREE SPEECH!"...if people actually cared about free speech, bitcoin and nostr would be all they used...they don't). all this to say, we're not doomed. but what we think is the killer feature isn't right now. who's going to discover the one that is?

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I love when I check my client I can follow back to where I last read if I want. Chronological following is such an underrated feature. I feel like I'm swimming in circles on Twitter. I'll read a tweet from someone 8 hours ago, then another one from a day ago, then another one from half an hour ago. And if I accidentally pull refresh I'll lose a tweet I wanted to read. Nostr clients all have warts, but they're getting better and better.
Don't stop believing ta na na na na na GM ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿซ‚๐Ÿ’œ
jack's avatar jack
nostr is still mainly used alongside twitter. in the best rare case, as a replacement. and only because people are running away from something about twitter they don't like. there is nothing that people want to run to nostr for yet. zaps were promising, but bitcoin is still a hurdle (one that primal is doing the best at overcoming), and it's doubtful lightning could scale to a massive adoption moment. nostr needs a feature or experience that's unique and sets it apart. i *think* that is the ecosystem of microapps over the long term...but it's definitely not in the short term. and that might be ok. for twitter the initial draw was the simplicity and weirdness of 140 characters (we started with zero network effect, facebook had it all...that's built over time). later it became the conversation which lead to the "public square" (owned by a private corporation ยฏ\_(ใƒ„)_/ยฏ). and then as it grew, it had a single point of control/failure people could attack. nostr doesn't have to worry about that last bit. it's an incredible feature. but not one the average person cares about (no matter how much they yell "FREE SPEECH!"...if people actually cared about free speech, bitcoin and nostr would be all they used...they don't). all this to say, we're not doomed. but what we think is the killer feature isn't right now. who's going to discover the one that is?
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I traded post-Musk Twitter for TikTok for some of the same reasons I was drawn to pre-2017 Twitter in the first place: easy to see what is going on in the world right now (trending), very effective search functionality, able to share even with friends off the platform. When we can up the searchability and shareability antes then we will increase viral potential and attract more creators and consumers.
I agree, @jack Masses don't care much about FREE SPEECH, only content creators are worried about it. Masses use platforms for 3 reasons: 1. To follow controversies 2. To follow a favorite celebrity 3. To connect with like-minded We can use the ' free speech ' keyword to onboard creators ( controversial creators) but for the masses, we need diverse topics and controversies on #nostr. As per my experience, the current #nostr is for tech nerds, freedom enthusiasts, and #bitcoin lovers. I think we need to brainstorm on marketing ways and messaging. 3 questions 1. Why do masses use X or Instagram 2. How masses flock from one platform to another 3. Who drives masses? 4. What topics drive the masses?
I respectfully disagree. Many people might not care about free speech (now). But once truth is harder to find elsewhere more curious seekers will flock to nostr. Many are already here. IMHO we already have the killer feature. Itโ€˜s us :) A bunch of curious seekers in one place. People building something based on what they feel in their heart. We just need to be patient for others to find us.
โ†ฉ replying to Men โ˜•
Also, apps and features that are yet to exist, but become possible because there is no central control or vision. nostr allows a Darwinian style of evolutionary development that will see many failures, but the successes that come will be game changing and move the whole of the Internet onto the next level. Protocols change evolution, platforms utilise evolution.
Nostr is good for real world relationships because you see who you follow without getting burried by an algorithm. However, it is very text focused. Facebook grew by using games, then once you had built a network of friends you could see what your friends were posting. This overcame the chicken and egg scenario with building a social network. A daily challenge game like sukudu or wordle where you can see your friends score would be great. It could be embedded into websites like the NY Times have done to wordle, but because it's nostr the same game could be played on different sites or dedicated apps and you could see the results of all your friends, wherever they played the game. This could easily get a greater network effects than wordle. Every site that's not NY Times has an incentive to get on board to offer something that doesn't take people to their competition.
jack's avatar jack
nostr is still mainly used alongside twitter. in the best rare case, as a replacement. and only because people are running away from something about twitter they don't like. there is nothing that people want to run to nostr for yet. zaps were promising, but bitcoin is still a hurdle (one that primal is doing the best at overcoming), and it's doubtful lightning could scale to a massive adoption moment. nostr needs a feature or experience that's unique and sets it apart. i *think* that is the ecosystem of microapps over the long term...but it's definitely not in the short term. and that might be ok. for twitter the initial draw was the simplicity and weirdness of 140 characters (we started with zero network effect, facebook had it all...that's built over time). later it became the conversation which lead to the "public square" (owned by a private corporation ยฏ\_(ใƒ„)_/ยฏ). and then as it grew, it had a single point of control/failure people could attack. nostr doesn't have to worry about that last bit. it's an incredible feature. but not one the average person cares about (no matter how much they yell "FREE SPEECH!"...if people actually cared about free speech, bitcoin and nostr would be all they used...they don't). all this to say, we're not doomed. but what we think is the killer feature isn't right now. who's going to discover the one that is?
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Zaps. Did anyone in this discussion mentioned Jaron Lanier? He is talking about micropayments since 2010 and has a very good point too. Once Nostr becomes somewhat known and likes of ticktockers will realize that they can post there and earn peanuts of share of value or they van post on Nostr and flock their following here too so they van have the micropayments without the middleman.
Youโ€™re such an eloquent writer and orator. I find this note to be sincere & beautifully written. I agree with everything expressed here.โค๏ธ Lyn Alden hit the nail on the head. Nostr needs time. And patience. ๐Ÿ•ฐ๏ธ๐Ÿ’œ Freedom is subjective to me so I tend to back away from that kind of ideology. What is free for one can be a form of subjection to another. The concept of โ€œfreedomโ€and what it is to be โ€œtruly freeโ€ especially within the framework of social media is a bit a fallacy for me. Also, the concept of centralization is mostly demonized here and for good reason but I am not entirely against it. In many instances, itโ€™s just common sense. And then, there is a steep learning curve to navigating nostr that we canโ€™t overlook. I love Twitter so much. I think itโ€™s perfect sans the forced and extremely bizarre algorithms and super creepy moderation. I visualize Nostr as its own ecosystem, more or less, this massive cluster of cute shiny little goldfish consisting of clients and micro apps or what have you in unison - coexisting with or even taking down the big fish. Keep building and creating and have fun - the journey is the destination until it isnโ€™t. Nostr will continue to grow and evolve into what itโ€™s meant to be. ๐Ÿ ๐ŸŒŽโ˜€๏ธ๐ŸŒฌ๏ธ๐ŸŒน๐Ÿƒโœจ๐Ÿ’‹๐Ÿฆโค๏ธโ€๐Ÿ”ฅ image
Honestly, you are so good for this space. The entire space continually benefits from your countless contributions and dedication on a global scale, most of which is under appreciated, only because it is impossible to quantify it all. ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ทโ˜€๏ธ๐ŸŒฌ๏ธ๐ŸŒน๐Ÿƒโœจ๐Ÿ’‹๐Ÿฆ๐Ÿซ‚โค๏ธ https://brazilian.report/liveblog/web-summit-rio/2024/04/16/tbd-jack-dorsey-latin-america/amp/ image
One straightforward move here is to take whatโ€™s working on Farcaster and reimplement it for the Bitcoin/nostr community. Could start with cast actions and frames. They are an open spec and transfer really well to nostr, and empower a ton of non-fulltime devs to innovate towards truly unique experiences here Yes itโ€™s still copying but itโ€™s copying a useful primitive that enables innovation at a higher level
Nothing that people wanna run to nostr for yetโ€ฆ. I call Bull shit I am people And I wanted to run to nostr right after first hearing about it a year ago I quit Twitter cold turkey and fb and all of them instantly just said fuck em The same way I said fuck dollars as soon as I discovered sats So I call BS on that statement jack
โ†ฉ replying to Greeny
Sorry Jack this post triggered me I was all like DOOMER ๐Ÿ˜…๐Ÿคฃ But I kinda get it Your saying keep building Letโ€™s figure it out Kinda like how Jeff booth says โ€œ as long as it stays decentralized and secureโ€ Like yea it is and it will, but that doesnโ€™t mean we need to sit idly by Letโ€™s be proactive and productive Working on increasing privacy Running nodes Mining Strengthen the network Help Do something!
A means for the user to directly influence and control their own algorithm would be a game changing feature. Perhaps this could be implemented within clients and verified at some level (to ensure no manipulation by third parties). Given current platforms have an overarching business interest in maximising their revenue, it's difficult to see them offering users algorithmic control over content curation. As we've seen over the last few years, centralised platforms are easily pressured into censoring content. User controlled algorithms (with verification features) would be directly at odds with their current models.
The ability to find people and organizations and tags is severely wanting on nostr. The use of long numerical public keys as identifiers is also a hindrance for user interface. In many instances, they cannot be easily copied and pasted from other apps or communicated to others. Why canโ€™t I use nostr to easily discover local marketplaces or sellers or like minded groups? We need discovery tools.
Surely it want be that killer app feature, but in my opinion, I think it would be nice to add a feature that you can filter and sort global content by the amount of sats which were given as a value 4 value. So good content could spread even better. Imagine one day nostr could be used for a political surveys. #grownostr #plebchain #Nostr #asknostr
jack's avatar jack
nostr is still mainly used alongside twitter. in the best rare case, as a replacement. and only because people are running away from something about twitter they don't like. there is nothing that people want to run to nostr for yet. zaps were promising, but bitcoin is still a hurdle (one that primal is doing the best at overcoming), and it's doubtful lightning could scale to a massive adoption moment. nostr needs a feature or experience that's unique and sets it apart. i *think* that is the ecosystem of microapps over the long term...but it's definitely not in the short term. and that might be ok. for twitter the initial draw was the simplicity and weirdness of 140 characters (we started with zero network effect, facebook had it all...that's built over time). later it became the conversation which lead to the "public square" (owned by a private corporation ยฏ\_(ใƒ„)_/ยฏ). and then as it grew, it had a single point of control/failure people could attack. nostr doesn't have to worry about that last bit. it's an incredible feature. but not one the average person cares about (no matter how much they yell "FREE SPEECH!"...if people actually cared about free speech, bitcoin and nostr would be all they used...they don't). all this to say, we're not doomed. but what we think is the killer feature isn't right now. who's going to discover the one that is?
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The marketplace is the feature. All other marketplaces don't have the ability to combine payment and reviews in a peer to peer way. Amazon reviews are full of dog shit and you have to jump through hoops to get access all to get your product stolen by Amazon. If we can have a marketplace where is can sell farm goods directly to npub, the shipping info sent (gift wrap dms?) so that delivery confirmation is part of the review and then allow folks to review reviewers so the web of trust for a person's reviews has more information.
I come to #nostr for the note signature verifications, not to run away from twitter. The proof is: I still use Twitter. Anyone else just here for the cryptographic assurances?
jack's avatar jack
nostr is still mainly used alongside twitter. in the best rare case, as a replacement. and only because people are running away from something about twitter they don't like. there is nothing that people want to run to nostr for yet. zaps were promising, but bitcoin is still a hurdle (one that primal is doing the best at overcoming), and it's doubtful lightning could scale to a massive adoption moment. nostr needs a feature or experience that's unique and sets it apart. i *think* that is the ecosystem of microapps over the long term...but it's definitely not in the short term. and that might be ok. for twitter the initial draw was the simplicity and weirdness of 140 characters (we started with zero network effect, facebook had it all...that's built over time). later it became the conversation which lead to the "public square" (owned by a private corporation ยฏ\_(ใƒ„)_/ยฏ). and then as it grew, it had a single point of control/failure people could attack. nostr doesn't have to worry about that last bit. it's an incredible feature. but not one the average person cares about (no matter how much they yell "FREE SPEECH!"...if people actually cared about free speech, bitcoin and nostr would be all they used...they don't). all this to say, we're not doomed. but what we think is the killer feature isn't right now. who's going to discover the one that is?
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well when twitter decides to change things overnight it makes me want to build here. i know that the longer i build my brand on twitter the harder it is to transition to nostr this could be a feature, because nostr is ultimately future proof. facebook and โ€ฆ are only there as zombie companies. and the replacement is already here. letโ€™s fucking goooooo
I will call out "BS" everytime I hear this "You came to Nostr to run away from other platforms" crap. I almost didn't check Nostr out because the descriptions of clients (other than one for chess) were described as Twitter clones. ๐Ÿคฎ Twitter has always sucked. Facebook has always sucked, but it has usefulness. I used FB to promoteย my business and find local events/parties, and I didn't wantย to. I never "wanted" to use it. I wanted (and still want) to use Nostr, even though I can't use it as a replacement for the functionality that FB offered. I came to Nostr because I realized what it offers that others do not. It was a desire to see what the protocol, and various clients, had to offer that benefitted me. It has nothing to do with a compromise, or a second-tier option to the piles of feces that Big Tech has focused on. Yes, we can make Nostr more attractive to the masses, but pretending that we're here because we're refugees is moronic, especially considering how many people chose Nostr because they understand it.
jack's avatar jack
nostr is still mainly used alongside twitter. in the best rare case, as a replacement. and only because people are running away from something about twitter they don't like. there is nothing that people want to run to nostr for yet. zaps were promising, but bitcoin is still a hurdle (one that primal is doing the best at overcoming), and it's doubtful lightning could scale to a massive adoption moment. nostr needs a feature or experience that's unique and sets it apart. i *think* that is the ecosystem of microapps over the long term...but it's definitely not in the short term. and that might be ok. for twitter the initial draw was the simplicity and weirdness of 140 characters (we started with zero network effect, facebook had it all...that's built over time). later it became the conversation which lead to the "public square" (owned by a private corporation ยฏ\_(ใƒ„)_/ยฏ). and then as it grew, it had a single point of control/failure people could attack. nostr doesn't have to worry about that last bit. it's an incredible feature. but not one the average person cares about (no matter how much they yell "FREE SPEECH!"...if people actually cared about free speech, bitcoin and nostr would be all they used...they don't). all this to say, we're not doomed. but what we think is the killer feature isn't right now. who's going to discover the one that is?
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Itโ€˜s like Saylor said about Bitcoin: probably thereโ€˜s no need (yet) for the majority of the population. If censorship and threats against current free-speech platforms continue, like now with Telegram, and maybe later with Twitter/X, Iโ€˜m sure people will see the need and benefit of Nostr and will start engaging with it!