This is a nostr appreciation post to start the new year. I don’t think any of us are ready for how this thing can change the media.

No more algorithms doesn’t just mean that you get to control what you see – it also means that journalists like me can directly interact with their readers to get real feedback on how their content is perceived, without collecting anyones data.

Lots of posts of mine do terribly on Twitter but do very well on nostr – simply because the algorithm disfavors them for using a wrong word, format or hashtag. Other posts don’t do well on either – telling me that I need to get better at explaining things. Quality feedback like this is the holy grail for any journalist because it makes us better at what we do, and it’s impossible to achieve on the manipulation sites.

And for the zaps – it’s the only mechanism I have seen that actually discourages having a paywall. People *will* and *do* spend money on content they appreciate; not because they are forced to, but because they value what other people have created. This simply doesn’t work when what you make is hidden for a payment in advance scheme that requires you to setup an account and make new passwords for every page.

Journalists, just like artists, don't create stuff because they want to get rich (maybe some do, but that's a pretty stupid strategy). We create things because its physically impossible for us not to. Knowing that someone is willing to spend their sats on your work is the best feedback you can get.

Call me crazy but nostr doesn’t just make media more free. It makes it better. Bullish on what's to come 🎆