Nostr Web Client

What metrics do you think we should be using to measure Nostr's success/health?

nostr:nevent1qvzqqqqqqypzq079lp2n40t48tz8je7yc35vl5yw3juaaecm08sj6kk6kgzmcpxnqyfhwumn8ghj7ur4wfcxcetsv9njuetn9uq32amnwvaz7tmjv4kxz7fwv3sk6atn9e5k7tcpzamhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumn0wd68ytnzv9hxgtcqyrldkjrylencgngutgywc7eyjd7anawqmmccasrk5yd36vekl6df5tp5lp6

Lyn Alden 9mo ago

Off the top of my head, these are things I look at when measuring Nostr’s success/health:

-Estimates of active user numbers.

-Data, where available, on zaps/payments with Nostr-affiliated wallets.

-Client and relay diversity.

-Use cases outside of Twitter clones that start gaining some traction because the social graph or some other aspect of the open ecosystem makes them better, even for users that don’t care about decentralization or permissionlessness. (My go-to example is that I want review sites where in addition to numbers of reviews, I want to see any reviewers from my social graph on top, so I can be like “well she likes all the same books I do and she says this one is amazing, and the rest of the numbers are good, so…”)

Reply to this note

Please Login to reply.

Discussion

SUPERMAX 9mo ago

Lyn, slightly off-topic but also still in line here with 'outside use cases' for Nostr (same for you Max)

What are you TLDR thoughts on health-related apps/data via Nostr?

Main use case imo is individuals potential to actually hold their own health data, let alone being signed events (bonus).

Is this a worthy pursuit for Nostr devs?

Lyn Alden 9mo ago

Is there a specific article you can share on the details?

I do like users owning their own data, of course. I know Nostr has some privacy issues, but I assume affixing things to a private key can be workable.

My guess is the market would be smallish for a while. If people are dying of cancer they care less about privacy and more about treatment. And people I know who are health-hackers tend to like to broadcast their metrics most of the time, if anything, or otherwise aren’t way into privacy.

So I like the option. I think marketing with a focus on self-ownership is hard.

SUPERMAX 9mo ago

I had to find a long form note done by the Nosfabrica team, its a good overview of what is in the hivemind rn

I tend to agree with your thoughts; users just don't care enough for data ownership to actually move the needle; especially in a life or death scenario.

It brings me back to the same point imo in all of our tech; UI/UX is most important to 99% of users. Not the underlying tech.

Here's the long form note👇

nostr:naddr1qqj5setpd36xscmpwfjj6ntfvdex7ttpwpc8xtt0dck5ummnw3ez6ur0xdj8xdgpzemhxue69uhkzat5dqhxummnw3erztnrdakj7q3qhealthsx3swcgtknff7zwpg8aj2q7h49zecul5rz490f6z2zp59qxpqqqp65wlfg7ty

Max 9mo ago

I think it's cool. But my hunch is that we're early in the adoption cycle for something like that to take off. Same goes for almost any normal end user app.

For this next adoption phase, I'm looking for things that are adjacent to Bitcoin (which is the clear focus of our early adopters today) or that simply cannot be done elsewhere. A BTC example would be localbitcoins on Nostr - I'm really surprised this hasn't happened yet at more scale (with a shared order book among many apps). Other examples that leverage BTC and can't be done elsewhere might be Nostr based prediction markets with lightning payments. Examples of things that just can't be done elsewhere probably focus on autonomous AI - ie creating agents that can create/consume data and engage in commerce amongst themselves

SUPERMAX 9mo ago

Man, similar thing I just said to Lyn; the UI/UX is such a high priority I think we miss that a lot building bleeding edge tech.

Agreed and how we don't have a localbitcoins with Nostr yet (Where39 extension on LNBits is cool).

Great thoughts to share, thank you .

I'd agree; I think the real leverage we can obtain is building the things that cannot be done without Bitcoin/Lightning/ecash/Nostr/etc.

Pear & holepunch really peaks my interest, but still so early.

More tools which incentivize permissionless behaviors generating positive value for yourself & community

Fort Nakamoto 9mo ago

This is a solid framework for measuring Nostr’s success—especially the emphasis on client and relay diversity and use cases beyond social media clones. But I’d add a few layers to this analysis:

1. Economic Indicators & Network Effect

• Sats Flow & Zap Volume: Tracking how much real economic value moves across Nostr-affiliated wallets is crucial. If people are transacting meaningfully (beyond just tipping culture), it shows an evolving ecosystem.

• Merchant Adoption & Services: Are people offering and purchasing goods/services on Nostr? When it moves beyond just memes and discussion into an actual economic layer, that’s a huge milestone.

2. Relay Health & Network Resilience

• Decentralization of Relays: Is relay use consolidating around a few major players, or are individuals and businesses spinning up their own?

• Relay Profitability & Sustainability: A decentralized system is only as good as its incentives. If relays can’t sustain themselves economically, we risk centralization over time.

3. Use Cases That Aren’t Just “Decentralized Twitter”

• You nailed this point. Nostr is an open protocol, not just a replacement for Twitter. So the real signal of health is when applications emerge that:

• Wouldn’t be possible in a centralized environment.

• Solve a real problem for non-ideological users (i.e., people who don’t care about decentralization but use it anyway because it’s better).

• Leverage the permissionless, interoperable social graph for something unique.

Your review site example is exactly the kind of thing that should be happening: a practical use case where the decentralized nature is a feature, not just a philosophical preference.

4. Adoption Beyond Tech-Savvy Users

• How easy is onboarding?

• Are non-technical people getting involved without needing to understand public/private keys and relays?

• Does the UX improve to the point where “it just works” for normal users?

5. Narrative & Influence

• Are major discussions starting on Nostr and filtering out to other platforms? If Nostr becomes a place where ideas originate and spread outward, that’s an undeniable sign of its importance.

• Are mainstream entities (media, businesses, political figures) forced to engage with it because it’s where conversations are happening?

⸻

Success isn’t just growth—it’s resilience. If Nostr can become useful, profitable, and indispensable while maintaining its core principles, then it’s succeeding. The moment people start using it not because they should, but because they want to—that’s when it’s truly won.