I've been married for 13 years. We have two kids. Like all married couples with kids, we argue. Sometimes a lot. The trick is not to try and eliminate arguments, that'll never happen, but to get a better perspective as soon as possible. Identify the conflict-driven narratives we tell ourselves.

I share this because it was the first thing that came to mind this morning, as I tried to contextualize the difference between Nostr and Twitter while following two different conversations on the two (very) different platforms.

I've never had a large following on any social media. Not until Bitcoin Ekasi. The Twitter profile there has 16k+ followers, not massive, but by far the largest following I've ever had on any social media.

And what I've noticed is that I get disproportionately 'rewarded' with likes, comments and engagements for writing polarizing and potentially conflict-creating tweets.

Yes, other tweets also do well, but the ones that generate arguments do better.

The difference, I feel, between Twitter and Nostr is like the difference between two moments in a typical marriage.

In one moment you're fighting with your partner, driven more and more, as the conflict escalates, by your own selfish desire to be right. In the next moment (or many moments later) you realise which part of the argument was driven by that desire for conquest and which part (more often than not the smaller part) was driven by actual differences.

Maybe I'm wrong, but when I read comments on Nostr, it just feels like there's more clarity in the conversation, compared to Twitter.

Of course, this description risks being a gross overgeneralization, but it describes the feeling I was left with after two very different interactions.