I've heard some folks with large X followings claim nostr isn't worth their time because adoption is low and not growing fast enough for their liking.

Seems shortsighted to me. I consider investing in social media to be similar to financial investing - it's about time in the market rather than timing the market. Much like how most of Bitcoin's annual gains occur during 10 days of the year, I experienced a similar phenomenon on Twitter.

Choose to be a laggard nostrich to your own detriment.