Nostr Adoption Concerns

Introduction

I am a BTC maximalist, but on my journey toward Bitcoin, I had many questions and fears that held me back from buying the best money in the world. Looking back, I now realize that all my fears stemmed from a misunderstanding of the Bitcoin protocol.

Today, I find myself in a similar situation with Nostr. Could you — Nostr heroes, developers, and legends — help a newbie better understand the Nostr network?

POINT 1: Nostr will never become a widely adopted network

I think I understand the benefits of Nostr, but, like many of you here, I’m not a typical social media user. I highly value privacy, freedom of speech, decentralization, and real ownership of money and data. I see many like-minded individuals here, but who else would have the motivation to start using Nostr?

Content creators? Those whose accounts were canceled or shadow-banned on platforms like Facebook or Instagram? Unlikely — their audience simply isn’t here. Consumers? Again, unlikely — their friends aren’t here, and they don’t care about Nostr’s benefits. They’ve never been banned, and they believe current social networks are truly free. I’m curious: how many users on Nostr are not connected to Nostr or Lightning development? I just can’t imagine an event that would cause users to start switching en masse to this network.

>> What could motivate regular social media users to try Nostr?

POINT 2: No marketing

Nostr is currently a niche, nerdy space. But so what? Bitcoin was in a similar position just a few years ago. However, Bitcoin is money — and money, as a source of power, has always attracted people. Plus, Bitcoin’s rising price serves as an automated global marketing campaign. Many people also have an incentive to promote Bitcoin because they earn money from trading platforms or related services.

With Nostr, there’s no equivalent incentive structure.

>> Who will promote Nostr?

POINT 3: Trust in the Nostr system

The Bitcoin protocol has already shown us that the best systems are trustless. Currently, it’s customary to pay “zaps.” We assume some users will do this, but, in my opinion, most creators will find it easier (and more profitable) to use platforms like Patreon or HeroHero. These platforms allow creators to put content behind a solid paywall rather than relying on voluntary user donations. Is similar model possible on Nostr? Is really the trust in user donations really the right direction?

>> Why should creators offer their content for free and depend on user donations?