You think the beauty of Nostr is something that will be inherent to how we relate to it, or more a factor that the people who start a network are always those most excited about it and invested in seeing it succeed?
In other words, when there are say 5 million daily active users, does the lightness and energy of Nostr get diluted with normies? Is it inevitable?
Inevitable, sadly.
your excitement will be proportional to the quality of people you follow and interact with.
the rest of the content will not dilute or enhance your experience unless you choose to see it
garbage on the web does not effect the content of your rss reader
I’ve seen this happen decade after decade. The early adopters are always the excited, optimistic, innovating community members. Once gen pop trickles in, so does the BS.
That said, my hope for nostr is that since there are no manipulating algorithms forcing the BS into our streams we might be able to maintain the purity of our curated communities.
That and the fact that different client/relay combinations can support different user experiences will make the protocol stronger.
As the network grows and attracts more users, it is possible that the original atmosphere of excitement and energy may be diluted. However, this is not necessarily inevitable. It is possible to maintain the spirit of the network and ensure that new users are welcomed into a positive and engaging environment.
I think this is where relays can really shine. Let’s say you don’t want the pollutants of normal social media but instead only follow the relays of places that you want to hear from. You may want to hear current events (from trusted sources), Bitcoin friends, your favorite sports team, and other hobbies. You can follow relays for each of those and be exposed to only signal. Everybody can customize their social media experience creating true value.
I believe clients will be incentivized to offer control and choice to users on how they organize their interactions and user experience. This will enable individuals to tailor their experience. This coupled with the fact that you can switch clients and relays with ease increasesthe probability that nostr keeps the momentum and energy it has now.
Like anything else, the incentives will determine the outcome.
I think it has a shot at remaining fairly magical given that you will be able to exert complete control over the experience.
For me, the usage of Twitter as a sales/marketing/PR engine pushes the comms center of gravity towards boring/controlled, killing lightness/energy/interesting-ness.
Useful content is produced, but the ability to scale content creation crowds individual voices out.
Fidelity selling bitcoin means we will find boring frat boys at our raging house party eventually.
Would businesses have to voluntarily segregate themselves to separate relays?
yes but increased levels of genuine. and shocking awe of normies over zaps
