What is Nostr?
Tony
npub10aw…5ys7
2023-08-11 15:53:02

Welcome to Nostr

This guide is available in:

Hello, fellow Nostrich!

Nostr is a brand new phenomenon and there are a few steps that will make your onboarding much smoother and your experience much richer.

👋 Welcome

Since you are reading this, it’s safe to assume that you already joined Nostr by downloading an app (e.g. Damus, Amethyst, Plebstr) for your mobile device or opening a Nostr web client (e.g. snort.social, Nostrgram, Iris). It is important for a newcomer to follow the steps suggested by the app of your choice – the welcoming procedure provides all the basics, and you won’t have to do much more tuning unless you really want to. If you’ve stumbled upon this post, but don’t have a Nostr “account” yet, you can follow this simple step-by-step guide by melissa (npub1cly…amhz).

🤙 Have fun

Nostr is built to ensure people can connect, get heard, and have fun along the way. This is the whole point (obviously, there is a plethora of serious use cases, such as being a tool for freedom fighters and whistleblowers, but that deserves a separate article), so if you feel like anything feels burdensome, please reach out to the more experienced nostriches and we will be happy to help. Interacting with Nostr is not hard at all, but it has a few peculiarities when compared to traditional platforms, so it’s ok (and encouraged) to ask questions.

Here’s an unofficial list of Nostr ambassadors who will be happy to help you get onboard:

naddr1qq…96yu

All the nostriches on the list were also awarded a Nostr Ambassador badge that will make it easy for you to find, verify and follow them

⚡️ Enable Zaps

Zaps are one of the first differences one may notice after joining Nostr. They allow Nostr users to instantly send value and support creation of useful and fun content. This is possible thanks to Bitcoin and Lightning Network. These decentralized payment protocols let you instantly send some sats (the smallest unit on the Bitcoin network) just as easily as liking someone’s post on traditional social media platforms. We call this model Value-4-Value and you can find more about this ultimate monetization model here: https://dergigi.com/value/

Check out this note by Derek Ross (npub18am…p424) that is a great intro to what zaps are.

You should enable Zaps even if you do not consider yourself a content creator – people will find some of your notes valuable and might want to send you some sats. The easiest way to start receiving value on Nostr onley takes a couple steps:

  1. Download Wallet of Satoshi - probably the best choice for those who are new to Bitcoin and Lightning for your mobile device.1 Note that there are many more wallets and you are welcome to choose the one that suits you best. Also, don’t forget to come back and back up your wallet.
  2. Tap “Receive”
  3. Tap the Lightning Address you see on the screen (the string which looks like an email address) to copy it to the clipboard. wos2
  4. Paste the copied address into the corresponding field in your Nostr client (the field may say “Bitcoin Lightning Address”, “LN Address” or anything along those lines depending on the app you are using). paste

📫 Get a Nostr address

Nostr address, often referred to as a “NIP-05 identifier” by the Nostr OGs, looks like an email and:

🔍 Helps you make your account easy to discover and share
✔️ Serves as a verification you are a human

Here’s an example of a Nostr address: Tony@nostr.21ideas.org) nip-05 It’s easy to memorize and later paste into any Nostr app to find the corresponding user.

To get a Nostr address you can use a free service like Nostr Check (by quentin (npub138s…x624)) or a paid one like Nostr Plebs (by Derek Ross (npub18am…p424)). Both offer different perks, and it’s up to you to decide which one to use. Another way of getting a Nostr address is using a browser extension. Find out more about this approach here) .

🙇‍♀️ Learn the basics

Under the hood Nostr is very different from traditional social platforms, so getting a basic understanding of what it is about will be beneficial for any newcomer. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting you should learn a programming language or technical details of the protocol. I’m implying that seeing a bigger picture and understanding the difference between Nostr and Twitter / Medium / Reddit will help a lot. For example, there are no passwords and logins, you have private and public keys instead. I won’t go deep into that, ‘cause there is a handful of exhaustive resources that will help you grokk Nostr. All of the ones worthy your attention are gathered on this neatly organized landing page prepared by Bevo (npub12gu…fle6) with 💜

bevstr Info provided by the mentioned resources will also help you secure your Nostr keys (i.e. your account), so it’s important to have a look.

🤝 Connect

Ability to connect with brilliant [^3] people is what makes Nostr special. Here everyone can get heard and no one can get excluded. There are a few simple ways to find interesting people on Nostr:

  • Find people you follow on Twitter: https://www.nostr.directory/ is a great tool for that.
  • Follow people followed by people you trust: Visit a profile of a person who shares your interests, check the list of people they follow and connect with them.

gigi

  • Visit Global Feed: Every Nostr client (a Nostr app, if you will) has a tab that lets you switch to the Global Feed, which aggregates all the notes from all Nostr users. Simply follow people you find interesting (be patient though – you might run into a decent amount of spam).

global

  • Use #hashtags: Hashtags are a great way to concentrate on the topics you like. Simply tap on a #hashtag you find interesting and you’ll see more notes related to the topic. You can also search for hashtags in the app you are using. Do not forget to use hashtags when composing notes to increase discoverability.

https://nostr.build/i/0df18c4a9b38f1d9dcb49a5df3e552963156927632458390a9393d6fee286631.jpg Screenshot of https://nostrgraph.net/ dashboard by wakoinc (npub1ktw…mrvj)

🗺️ Explore

The mentioned 5 steps are a great start that will massively improve your experience, but there’s so much more to discover and enjoy! Nostr is not a Twitter replacement, its possibilities are only limited by imagination.

nostr-apps

Have a look at the list of fun and useful Nostr projects:

📻 Relays

After getting acquainted with Nostr make sure to check out my quick guide on Nostr relays: https://lnshort.it/nostr-relays. It’s not the topic to worry about at the very beginning of your journey, but is definitely important to dive into later on.

📱 Nostr on mobile

Smooth Nostr experience on mobile devices is feasible. This guide will help you seamlessly log in, post, zap, and more within Nostr web applications on your smartphone: https://lnshort.it/nostr-mobile

Thanks for reading and see you on the other side of the rabbit hole.

Tony (npub10aw…5ys7)

  1. Do not forget
Author Public Key
npub10awzknjg5r5lajnr53438ndcyjylgqsrnrtq5grs495v42qc6awsj45ys7