Social Media and Nostr

Social Media and Nostr

Is it a matter of age how someone approaches the internet, how they behave online, which sources of information they use, which platforms they visit, how they think about their data security, and whether they consider who owns their thoughts?

I cannot answer this question. Life stories are too diverse.
Well, when answering this question, one could work with statistics. However, statistics only provide hints about a state, not necessarily about the reasons why and how this state came about.

Does life experience help? Yes and no. I know (in my opinion) intelligent people who have never asked themselves the questions formulated above. Even they do what all people (of their age) do.

When using social media, in this case Twitter, I became aware of the very first beginnings of Nostr a few years ago.
I tried out the first clients.
What I immediately liked about it was the idea that my participation, my statements, my comments, and my thoughts expressed there were not only mine, but also always associated with my identity (whatever I had given myself) and remained so.

When I said goodbye to Twitter, I asked the operators (using a functionality provided for this purpose) for a protocol of all my posts since the beginning of my account. I didn't even get an answer.

In Nostr, it is possible to use many different clients and still take your "account" with all the associated posts with you. This is the default. Well, you have to make sure over the years to always make a backup of your posts, but as a user, I always retain sovereignty over my data.

My data is not only stored on one server/relay, but on many different ones. These can also go offline, of course. However, the network has provided more and more tools over the years (now about 5 ½ years) for the individual user to take good care of their data. For example, it is possible to install a small app on a mobile phone that essentially monitors the Nostr client(s) used by the user on the same device and continuously saves the posts. Very good and very convenient.

Many users have already written about their experiences with Nostr. I would like to highlight and link to one post. The essentials are said there.
I recommend reading it.

From me, just one more point, which is also mentioned in the article as follows:

"NOSTR remains a small space. Its early adopters are heavily skewed towards cryptocurrency advocacy, with Bitcoin culture undeniably prevalent. For those opposed to this world, it can feel like an unwelcoming niche. Yet, this very origin also creates a unique strength. The embedded capability for micropayments via the Lightning Network fosters a nascent gift economy (often termed "Value 4 Value"). This allows direct, frictionless support between creators and audiences, a feature that is protocol-native rather than a corporate monetization add-on."

I also see this functionality as a great and unique strength of the network/Nostr. The native capability of the network to execute (micro) payments (currently: we're talking about tiny payments in the range of a fraction of a euro cent) gives every single post, every comment, every "like" an economic component, if this functionality is used by the user. It leads to a practice (you can observe the payment behavior of users on certain pages) that sets incentives for meaningful posts. I find this very important and recommend using it.

In short: take the time and take a look at this fascinating new social network called Nostr.


RA Michael Wahl