Over the last few days, I've seen a lot of posts about war, Israel, Hamas, etc. If it wasn't for Nostr, I wouldn't know what's going on. In the past, your favorite Nostr client may not have been the most appropriate place to go when looking for breaking news, however this is changing. The news cycle does find it's way here fairly quickly.
Discussion
Is this good or bad in your opinion?
It's good. It's good to be in the know.
Can’t answer for Derek, but to me it’s indifferent. I wish there was a way to categorize it in global, but I suppose it doesn’t clog the feed any more or less than maintenance bots that post in mandarin. 😆
I say indifferent, because I don’t read the news. The news shows the worst the world has to offer, but doesn’t leave me with any way to fix it. Instead of hassling with things I can never change, I get my news from memes so I can laugh instead of cry. So unless I subscribe to a news bot, it will continue the same.
Otherwise, if it showed in my feed whether I chose it or not, (think promoted FB paid posts) I would say it’s BAD. If things show up in my personal feed that I didn’t subscribe to, I’ll leave that client and if it becomes prevalent I’ll leave nostr altogether. Forgoing mass media, or at least fasting, is great for mental health. I wish everyone had the self respect to not entertain the reactionary and destructive thought patterns that develop from subjecting yourself to constant propaganda.
The times they are a changin’. I appreciated news stories mostly staying off Nostr. It was nice not to be subjected to the whiplash of mainstream media’s whims.
This.
It’s interesting though. I’m noticing some people on nostr being careful about what they post regarding the situation here but are much more vocal on Twitter (if they have Twitter accounts). Maybe it’s because nostr has built a culture of respect that’s unique to this platform.
I think Nostr has also built a community where it’s ok not to know and to ask questions.
I agree and think that’s beautiful.
Polite questions will be answered
:) I 1000% agree in theory. But the irony in this is that I’d never want the polite police telling me what to say on an open protocol. I think we get around that through zaps as Derek says because it naturally incentivized good behavior non forcibly.
I agree with Mallory, but also note that now Xitter incentivises divisiveness and so it should be expected. I think many people want to post in a measured way if they are capable and nostr allows this
Lets hope that is a good thing. It surely can be. Its up to us to create a good vibe protocol and not a trash talking one. Love wins people.
Absolutely. We are the algorithms.
I find it’s less here than other platforms, eta I don’t have a huge follower/following count here. There’s this aura of positivity and respect on #nostr, perhaps folks are just being careful. But, here and admittedly X, are the first places I check before seeing what any of the three letter GFY bullshit news casts have to say.
The aura of boosting positive news is what makes Nostr so infectious 🫂🫂🫂
There is too much news everywhere, and too often it is unreliable or imposes a particular opinion. Official sources and regulated media, of course, it would be interesting to see in Nostr, but in general the news and propaganda are already sick of.
Good news: current events are making it through to learn about them on Nostr
Bad news: current events are making it through to learn about them on Nostr
It's okay to learn about current events from a wide range of perspectives. The problem with centralized platforms is the way that it's handled and spoon-fed to make us engage and enrage. At least here's we don't have controversial content being thrown at us non-stop. I believe the difference is important.
I agree. Being able to curate your content is important.
Not watching the news is good for one’s mental health.
Being able to curate just enough current events so that you’re not living under a rock without being exposed to the insane outrage news cycle 24/7 is good.
Who are you following for news
I've been coming here specifically to get away from all of that lol
Humans are curious creatures. I don't think you'll ever be able to escape all news. At least it's not as prominent here as other places, right? Most news here focuses on building and positivity.
Yes exactly. I don't mind seeing the current news, twitter was just absolutely flooded by this and horrific content