March 7, 2024
NOSTR: Decentralized Social Media
Website: NOSTR
NOSTR Glossary
- Protocol - a procedure agreed upon by all the stakeholders. E.g. The Nostr protocol is passing messages around on the internet.
- Clients - these are apps, can be web, desktop, or mobile apps. On the WEB, the recommended clients are Nostter (this is what I opted for), Coracle, noStrudel, Snort, Rabbit. For Desktop, the favored clients are Gossip, more-speech and Lume.
- Signature - a form of validating events. The signature ensures that the event can be proven mathematically that they were created by whoever happens to be their true author.
- Private key - this is the equivalent to a password, but cannot be reset. If it is compromised or lost, you lose your identity (and followers) in Nostr - you will have to rebuild it from scratch. Best not to give this key to the client but instead have it for safekeeping with the browser extension. I used nos2x extension.
- Browser Extension - this is the best place to keep your private keys because it allows the web client to use your keys without knowing them. I use nos2x for my extension.
Social Media Alternative?
Social media is more and more controlling, becoming outright tyrannical. Anything posted contrary to the mainstream agenda is de-platformed. The public knows this but is helpless to do anything against - there is no alternative. Until now!
Edward Snowden Talk
I stumbled-upon Edward Snowden's streamed talk at Amsterdam's 2023 Bitcoin convention and learned of a new social network that has an open-protocol, decentralized and censorship-proof - NOSTR. Snowden touted that this is the way to free society from the controlling grip of the mainstream - to build a new ecosystem insteado of finding hacks within the controlled system. I looked it up and it gave me the same excitement when I first heard of Bitcoin and Web 3.0.
Client
Nostr per se is not something you interact with -it's the Client. The client will have the interface you interact with, like interacting with Twitter. I chose Nostter client - it was one of the recommendations of Nostr. All it needed was a name and you're off to go. I still have difficulty with the interface. I couldn't see any icon for "follow this guy" - and there was no tutorial on Youtube for this client.
nostter client interface
Web Browser Extension
Nostr recommended not to give any Client the private keys because a client's site could be hacked or sabotaged. The software could have bugs and breaches. Nostr recommends using a browser extension for Nostr and have the private keys there. I chose another Nostr recommendation, nos2x This way, web clients (like nostter) can use your keys without knowing the actual keys.
nos2x Chrome browser extension
Bitcoin Donation
integrated into the client is a Zap feature where your readers can very easily donate you bitcoin (in Satoshi denomination) if they liked your content. It's as easy as "like".
Zap for easy donation in Satoshi (Bitcoin)
Ending Thoughts
I'm still very green at this new ecosystem and there's more to learn. I hope it lives up to its promise. Last time I got excited about some new technological breakthrough was Qortal, but that seem to have fizzled out.
--- Gigit (TheLoneRider)
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