One additional reason is that eventually you have a lot of friends online. And it’s awkward to give money to friends often (other than splitting the bill). The better the relationship, the less money is involved, seemingly
Same reasons nostr:nprofile1qqs9wl0qdh8pvzsr0ytr5jahk6qtu0s2pcwx3hnwdw5vqyf5k3qxfhgpj0260 gave, zaps are more weighty, but also more ambiguous. Of course reactions are often emojis under the hood which does confound things some
Discussion
I think both are important but I was thinking few days ago of merging the two.
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Interesting idea. Kinda like a “super like” on dating apps. Still unclear on what the purpose is however. Is it a way to get someone’s attention more? Like a celebrity?
If you’re buying something or supporting a cause, I still think those things are better done in a different and more clear context
Zaps aren’t meant for purchases or fundraisers. I think some clients are implementing these in separate UIs.
Users zap for different reasons but mostly as a reciprocal value for value transaction. It’s a clever way to tip content creators and open source developers without third parties.
So let’s assume that zaps are for tips. You’re going to be tipping things like newsletters, right?
The problem there is that tips are not a reliable way for a newsletter to operate. If they do it just for fun, sure. But the monthly subscription model came about for a reason (to be able to better predict budget).
Tips to Developers are the same
What else would you tip?
No one should be dependent on zaps like no one is actually dependent on tips IRL. Zaps haven’t been fully developed yet. You’ll see many applications for zaps soon including zapwalled content in which case they aren’t going to be just tips