Because a better solution allowing new users to browse through popular accounts has not been implemented yet.
Discussion
we are working on one at nostr:npub17vscfmnmshfdw68llhduxtr4h0kkmyhzm4phzs40t3gqsmguz7lsak66ne! using intentional design of people and spaces.
you can go to your own block (top 21 profiles) or neighborhood or hop into different people's neighborhoods (curated list of profiles, no cap. this is different than your follow list).
if you were new to Nostr you'd visit a few popular neighborhoods and start having fun.
or you can go explore the city - hang out in districts (hashtags like #coffeechain) or intersections (two hashtags like #bitcoin & #grow).
you can go to the wilds and see the full Nostr feed but inside NextBlock the block/neighborhood/city should be enough to have fun for a few minutes on social media!
I dig it. I’ll use it.
I like the idea of a neighborhood more than a list of accounts to follow. Districts and intersections are very cool. And I can see it represented visually in a way that’s satisfying.
I’d love an option to turn off reposts from people in my neighborhood. A way to prevent friends from bringing unwanted guests to your house, if you will. Or at least partially hide them so I have to click on them to see the full post. Like they’re there but I need to give them permission to interact.
oh that's an interesting customization. without an algorithm, I was expecting reposts to serve as the primary "safe" way to see new content. generally that's how I've been finding good creators on Nostr now.
you don't like reposts? or just reposts from certain people you follow? would they make the cut to get in your neighborhood?
Nah. My ideal neighborhood would be <50 people who post original content at a maximum of1-2 daily. I’m stubborn, cranky and don’t want to live in a noisy, vibrant neighborhood. I like a boring, mostly static feed that even if I don’t check it all day, I can easily catch up to. I want my social media experience to mirror my real life experience as much as possible.
I understand I’m not a typical user.
ah! so we have blocks and neighborhoods.
your block is capped at 21 accounts. when you're done scrolling/strolling your block and catching up with their content, you can walk into your neighborhood that may show you more.
everyone has their own block and neighborhood, but also can jump into other people's neighborhoods. your block may be the only place you want to hang out. get in, have some fun, get out of the app and on with your life!
I'll note your customization request! we do want to replicate the real world experience and step out of what legacy social media has normalized.
specifically with ending "following" people and changing that to just adding them to your contacts (like our old school physical address books!). then it won't matter how many people have you in their contacts, your reach is how many blocks or neighborhoods you've been added to.
I’m in. When launching?
the block/neighborhood/city/wilds design of nostr:npub17vscfmnmshfdw68llhduxtr4h0kkmyhzm4phzs40t3gqsmguz7lsak66ne is only half of it.
we will offer an opt-in ad experience. you set the price of your attention, 60 seconds of your time. advertisers set the highest price they are willing to pay someone to watch their ad.
we match people with ads every time there is a new block on the Bitcoin blockchain. you watch. you get paid.
we're testing this ✨revolutionary ad experience✨ via the proof of concept call 'billboard'.
people will be able to watch ads, earn money, and ~ help us raise money to build our social media app. ~ then we'll be able to launch nextblock social.
nextblock billboard is launching🤞🏽may 2025🤞🏽
Could we use a network map and see profiles and nodes and hubs connected to each other so we can see the popular profiles with many following/followers?
love where your head is and we do have a plan for visualizing popularity. that's down the line and a little different than what you're describing but it's important to first note...
we believe in ending "following" people and instead just adding them to your contacts (like our old school physical address books!). then it won't matter how many people have you in their contacts, your reach is instead how many blocks or neighborhoods you've been added to.
so a person added to a lot of neighborhoods could be considered popular, rather than someone who is simply in a lot of people's contacts. a popular neighbor if you will...
I also think instead of finding profiles, on nextblock you'll find a few accounts of people you already know, hang out in their in neighborhoods and decide for yourself whether you even want to curate your own neighborhood.
also important to note...
we will have an opt in ad experience that lets you set the price for you attention/you get paid on Bitcoin to watch ads
if you hang out in someone else's neighborhood and an ad fires off, they will get a cut of your payout. a fee for the experience they've curated for you in their neighborhood.
we envision popular neighborhoods to QC the accounts they choose. they'll be financially incentivized to maintain the experience that people are coming for.
with this design and incentivized structure we think it will be less laborious to have an awesome feed of content from accounts you actually want to see.
"Show me the feed from this neighborhood, what are people saying?"
Instead of individual follows, categories in columns like in the old Tweetdeck app. When you add a profile or a neighborhood or a search topic, it becomes a new feed that you can save for later, edit as desired, or discard when it stops being interesting enough to keep.
Ads that zap us to thank us for our time, AND a way to zap back to say "I really loved the creativity and the message". Make it a two way street so we can get away from the Advertising model and move to the Appreciation model.
think of ads as promoted notes! you will be about to zap comment repost them just like any other note!