I think this is the Secret Sauce that most casual observers don't get. They don't get that it's not a question of mere numbers, or getting some famous person to cross-post.

It's a question of

WHO LIVES HERE.

Who shows up, at least one per week, and interacts for hours, so that the people who want to speak with them can find them here, and have an incentive to stay here because

THEY KNOW THAT PERSON LIVES HERE AND READS THE MAIL SENT TO THIS ADDRESS.

The personal relationships of some of the people on Nostr are increasingly intertwined, deepened, and real life. It's worth it, to me, to hang around because my frens and project colleagues are also on here and I know that I can call out into the void here, and the void is full of my frens, and they call back.

It's a community. And there are subcommunities that want to get a private room to talk amongst themselves or about some pet topic. And that is how we #grownostr.