Avatar
Bison
75f2a14f69c387b4b9b1fda0987f4b1c240f42a34a64c411224dd64746d54c79
I no longer feel lost

You can buy bitcoin without understanding it, but you can’t hold it without understanding it

Volatility is proof of this

Gm

X: “Are you sure you want to send 38 cents via X Money to user bigbootylover69 for their inflammatory post about Mr. Musk?”

Nostr: ⚡️

Replying to Avatar ₿en Wehrman

Guys...I had an idea recently that I've been simmering on, and I think I might be onto something big here.

The zapping ecosystem unlocks infinite possibilities for expertise-seekers and expertise-providers to meet for a win-win transaction. But I feel like we haven't even scratched the surface on this in terms of building out an ecosystem of P2P micro-economies through the use of the "#Ask_____" hashtag format.

Imagine... experts of all types, across all fields, aggregating around hashtags according to their skillset, so they can answer plebs' questions, who then zap them for their input.

Examples:

Doctors: #AskDocs

Lawyers: #AskALawyer

Web/App Development: #AskDevs

Need Help Writing: #AskAWriter

Need Relationship Advice: #DatingAdvice #AskAMarriageCounselor

Need General Life Advice: #AskALifeCoach

(Hashtag semantics could be tweaked of course, but you get the idea)

It could also be expanded into freelancing requests, such as:

Need a logo design: #NeedDesigner

Need editing help on a written piece: #NeedEditor

And literally anything else the purple hivemind could think of...

As you can imagine, the depth of which we could take this is infinite. Literally anyone out there with expertise in ANYTHING could bootstrap a hashtag that other nostriches could use if they ever need help. And if lots of other folks do see value in having a channel opened up with a group of experts in that niche, all they have to do is just follow that hashtag, and use it anytime they have a question.

Of course, in order for this to work, Both the experts and the question-askers would have to embrace the concept wholeheartedly, making those hashtags active enough that the experts have enough of a financial incentive to keep that hashtag bookmarked, and actually spend time scrolling through and answering questions. But I think this would fit so well with the Nostr culture, that it has major potential to gain momentum quickly.

We've already seen how popular #AskNostr has been, and that hasn't even had a formal #Value4Value culture around it. It emerged completely organically, exactly how I expect all of these others would, given enough community enthusiasm. Ultimately this whole idea would just be an evolution of the #AskNostr concept—expanding the "#Ask_____" format out to EVERYTHING, with the embedded etiquette that you ZAP those that help you.

Eventually, if it grew big enough, we may see a large enough ecosystem of hashtags emerge that we could have either npubs, or a centralized database that tracks the most popular #Ask_____ hashtags, so the whole community knows which ones are the most active should they ever have a question within that topic. (This would also act as great purple-pilling bait for experts from these fields that aren't on Nostr yet. By joining the protocol, they could then start earning #Bitcoin by participating in this zapping ecosystem, directly with people around the world who are willing to pay for their expertise).

Once this idea gets engrained deeply enough into the Nostr culture, the maintenance of the concept would be quite simple 👇

EXPERTISE-SEEKERS:

- Post your questions, using the corresponding hashtag (ex: for a medical question, #AskDocs)

- Follow good etiquette and zap the doctors who answer your question (perhaps you could also attach a bounty to the note, i.e. "best answer gets a 10K zap")

EXPERTS:

a) Keep tabs on the hashtag corresponding to your field

b) Answer questions

c) Earn zaps ⚡️

d) Optionally, you could also put the hashtag(s) you frequent in your bio, to raise awareness on it (thus bringing more future questions ---> more zaps for you 🔄) so your followers know that's where to go to get advice from you and other experts in your field.

This would be a very interesting free market experiment, which I could see blowing up should both experts and question-askers embrace the idea of an open ecosystem of #V4V help channels.

Since the most obvious example I can think of as a kickoff test would be medical advice from doctors, I will tag in the Nostr docs I know below. I know nostr:nprofile1qqsd7msd66kcej39cpuu0n4ln9jce7gjgz65ck6deyzyytnay95sqhspx9mhxue69uhkummyv5hxxmmfde3hyet9dvhxxmmd9ahx7um5wf3kc6t9de6z7ctsdyhhvvf0wfjkccteqyxhwumn8ghj7mn0wvhxcmmvqy38wumn8ghj7mn0wd68yttkv4exjenfv4jzuam9d3kx7unyv4ezumn9wsacwhjf has already been doing exactly what I talked about above on an individual level (answering dentistry questions to anyone who tags him, in exchange for zaps).

What do y'all think about this, nostr:nprofile1qqstzt0wugc7sklvr8e7fcl7ukyn63ym3ns4nmf2mnk0vqnz4l9x65qpp4mhxue69uhkummn9ekx7mqpr4mhxue69uhkummnw3ezumtfv3jxc6twvuhx67tydeeju6nsqythwumn8ghj7mn0wd68ytn5dacx2arg9e5kuen0te28kw nostr:nprofile1qqsra0r5jp73ly50yz00yy8gwt9vqvl270lcne59x2rdghv3udg7l8spzdmhxue69uhhqatjwpkx2urpvuhx2ue0sv2m5n nostr:nprofile1qqsxknkf3upwv3lqz3qtguammy48lt3puqdk4fkxtcedh99rvzfzwtsppemhxue69uhkummn9ekx7mp0qydhwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnwdaehgunsd3jkyuewvdhk6tcpzamhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuen0w4h8gctfdchxvmgm0eauz nostr:nprofile1qqszjf0k3vznlcvcw4efurpywfannqkegp69kwccfvz5yzqgft6tukcpzamhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuurjd9kkzmpwdejhgtc8n0pm0 nostr:nprofile1qqst0xtvrqlqxm0j0qpfgkuqh0wgkzl4judkvgdgd0e4d8pnyytlqlgpz4mhxue69uhhwmm59eekjctdwd68ytnrdakszxthwden5te0wpex2mtfw4kjuurjd9kkzmpwdejhgtcpz4mhxue69uhhwmm59eek7anzd96zu6r0wd6qu6c2pf nostr:nprofile1qqsdvyenvujkqs4xwae3se2m78ecmrxaj385h2nvpdcw7jcztx227pqprpmhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuumwdae8gtnnda3kjctvqy28wumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnyv9kh2uewd9hszyrhwden5te0dehhxarj9emkjmn929qg0h? Would you participate in following the #AskDocs hashtag, answering people's questions, and earning extra zaps for it?

I'll leave it here for the Nostr community to discuss. Am I thinking too big, or could this be the next big trend that takes P2P #V4V into another stratosphere?

Share your thoughts below!

Yeah, that’s just subreddits formed by hashtags. I’ve been saying this for almost 2 years now.

Bitcoin balances the scale

Fees too high FUD in over/under 1 year?

We need a post to go viral by being posted only on nostr

Quick little update on the zoomed out bitcoin chart

The cost to censor you has never been cheaper

I only have nostr apps and pre-nostr apps on my phone

Can’t even chase tornadoes without the state’s permission

Replying to Avatar John Dennehy

Good morning from El Salvador

We are now in Day Three since the government rescinded Bitcoin as legal tender, at the request of the IMF

Some updates...

After skipping a few days for the first time since the 'bitcoin-a-day' program began, the govt seems to have made up for it and purchased 5 bitcoin yesterday. No word on what happened earlier in the week, but good to see they are back on track. As far as I can tell, this program will not be affected by the IMF deal, at least not at first, though we shall see

No other updates from on the ground, but in being very vocal in my opposition to removing legal tender status at the behest of the IMF I have learned a lot about the Bitcoin community. One major surprise is how little Bitcoiners seem to know about how the IMF works

This isn't just some loan. This isn't about the law changes El Salvador quietly pushed through earlier this week. This is about power, and how much leverage the IMF now has in determining El Salvador's future. If the govt decided, you know what, we need to update some laws. Great. But, that's not what happened. They are now making law changes cause Daddy IMF wants it, not cause they do. Expect more of the same now. This is the IMF playbook, always has been

Some background on me: I've been strongly opposed to the IMF since 2001 when I first realized thier actual role in the world. For more than two decades I've been protesting them. Literally. My first IMF related arrest was in 2002. I never worked for them, but I worked for the UN and UNICEF for over 10 years and got some insight into the global bureaucracy that the IMF was born out of. I've also travelled the globe--to more than 70 nations--, working as a journalist and seeing with my own eyes how the IMF has shaped the world

When I first heard about Bitcoin, I understand its potential instantly. I literally sold everything I had (which as a nomadic anarchist was not much) and went all in (I lost that entire first purchase when the exchange was hacked and later, the UK govt seized all my assets cause I was selling p2p bitcoin and they didnt like one of my customers). I understood Bitcoin immediately as a solution because I was already neck deep in the problem, which is best represented by the IMF and how they use 'loans' to control the world and shape our future.

There was only one other time in my life when I dropped everything and went all in. El Salvador in 2021, when they announced Bitcoin as legal tender, and implicitly, gave the finger to the IMF. I've built a life here. My son was born here. Whatever its faults, that this nation was willing to resist the IMF made this place incredibly special to me. Maybe you can understand why this news has hit me so hard

But I digress. I had wrongly assumed that the why & the how of the IMF was widely known among Bitcoiners. I've come to realize over the past few days that most think of the IMF as simply an organization that gives loans to nation states

I'm going to write more in the coming days and weeks about the IMF to try and help people understand how that org works. Any good beginner resources to recommend for those just getting started?

I imagine you’re aware, but nostr:npub1trr5r2nrpsk6xkjk5a7p6pfcryyt6yzsflwjmz6r7uj7lfkjxxtq78hdpu wrote a book on it