For those that are new to Nostr, hello!

What’s cool about it is that Nostr it is an open source protocol. It is not a centralized company, but rather is a protocol that individuals and companies can build upon.

This means that you can use many different applications to access it, or even build your own. And it means that there is no central authority that can take down posts or delete accounts; there are different servers operated by different entities that are storing the data. And there is no central algorithm for determining what posts people see or don’t see.

You can hook up a bitcoin lightning wallet to send and receive tips (“zaps”) on posts. Nostr itself is not a blockchain or crypto and has no token, but the Bitcoin blockchain does complement it well via zaps.

Nostr is still relatively small, and a bit rough around the edges. But the community here is great, and familiarizing yourself with the technology and concept is useful in a world of centralized social media. It is a new method of decentralization that balances various trade-offs in a novel way, and the protocol can be used for a lot more than just social media.

Welcome!