Nostr Web Client

Going forward all social networks have to start with Nostr and either provide better experience or brand. The incentives are clear. If you could get a million users from a day one on your new app - would you say "nah, I don't want that"?

This really underscores the massive difference between protocol and a platform. With platform there are artificial bottlenecks, like deplatforming, API limits, competition prevention, worry of being rugpulled in future. With protocol you can't get de-protocoled, anyone can handle as many API calls as they can handle, etc.

And somehow magically this just so perfectly fits in the current geopolitical and econ situation. With the current interest rates, money is no longer free and so we are no longer chasing the biggest captured userbase, but rather the profits & time-to-sustainability.

"Captured userbase" just doesn't matter as a metric anymore. It no longer makes any sense. Do you have userbase? Yes. All applications can have userbase of millions in a single day if they choose so. And what does that remind me of? Yes, that's why we bitcoin!

#[0], #[1], I'm interested in whether this is completely wrong take :)

David King 2y ago

i mostly agree, but there’s a lot to unpack here.

i wrote a tweet alluding to similar themes, but from a somewhat different perspective: https://twitter.com/dksf/status/1621604620744392704

AI focused social behaviors may be the one exception I can imagine given what i’ve seen/believe to be true.

but yeah, i think anyone building in social should try to understand what’s going on with nostr since it represents a new form of gravity in internet publishing

any interest in making a video with me to discuss these topics further? i’m sure we can accommodate pseudonymous participation assuming you prefer that?

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Discussion

nout 2y ago

Great, yes, let's talk this through in a video! This is one of those cases where a mask will be actually effective 😄

Max 2y ago

Great take, #[3]!

AI point is spot on. I do think the other apps on nostr will be able to monetize as well (though perhaps at much smaller scale), but I agree that a traditional corporate structure may not be the best vehicle for many of these. It would be really cool to see successful bitcoin and nostr startups have more decentralized exit options than traditional IPO. Or perhaps most of the value will just accrue back to BTC / major routing nodes anyway…