Introducing Nostr: The Free Speech Protocol
WHAT IS NOSTR?
- The Nostr protocol launched on November 7th 2020 and was created by the anonymous bitcoin developer FiatJaf
- Nostr is a simple, open protocol that enables a global, decentralised, censorship-resistant network like bitcoin in many ways but for communication.
- Nostr doesn’t rely on any trusted central server.
- Nostr is an open standard on which anyone can build, similar to HTTP or TCP-IP. The simplicity of Nostr makes it easy to build applications like social media experiences and integrate with various open protocols like the bitcoin lightning network.
- The word “Nostr” is an acronym for Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted over Relays.
SO HOW DOES NOSTR WORK?
Nostr is a protocol based on servers called “relays’’. These relays allow for json files to be sent and received by any individual who is also connected to the same relay. Relays can be operated by anyone. There are now over 500 public relays as of this week, 06/03/2023. Individuals can now easily run their own Nostr relay via applications and tools like Umbrel (https://community.getumbrel.com/t/introducing-the-official-nostr-relay-app/11339).
One of the key advantages of running your own relay is that it enables you to back up and take control of your data. By opening a persistent connection with the relays, Nostr based clients/apps can push and pull events (such as likes, comments, posts, DMs, payments) in real time.
Nostr requires no KYC, no email sign up, nor any phone number verification; instead, the protocol gives users their very own public key (npub…) and private key (nsec…). You can think of this like a username and password for your own Nostr profile. Very similar to bitcoin, your public address is for sharing with others. And your private key gives you access to send notes and encrypted messages to addresses on the same relay. As always, be sure to follow safe private key practices like you would with your bitcoin setup: In this case, “not your keys, not your coins” now means “not your keys, not your notes/identity”. It means that if you do not control your private keys, you do not have control over your digital identity and data on Nostr. For more technical details read Nostr’s github page: https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nostr
WHAT IS NOSTR’S ORIGIN STORY AND WHY HAS IT BECOME SO POPULAR IN RECENT MONTHS?
Nostr was created by an anonymous developer who goes by the pseudonym FiatJaf. He has been working on various bitcoin lightning network projects including the LNTX bot for the mobile app Telegram. Nostr has been slowly developed by a small number of developers in the last two years with little to no funding until recently when Jack Dorsey (former Twitter CEO) donated 14 BTC (1.4 Billion satoshis) on December 15th. Jack Dorsey expressed his views about the need for an open internet protocol for social media after the controversy of the Twitter Files being leaked to the new CEO Elon Musk:
The 14 BTC (~$250k) donation by Dorsey attracted many entrepreneurial developers to develop on the protocol with bounties on offer for dev teams (https://bountsr.org/). One of the lead Nostr devs named William Cassarin was then able to work full time on his IOS application Damus app and other NIPs (Nostr Implementation Possibilities like BIPs for Bitcoin development). Damus TestFlight App went live in late December and as a result led to huge growth in Nostr’s user base overnight. It encouraged many more devs to build competing applications and innovate.
The following month, the well known NSA whistleblower and privacy advocate Edward Snowden (5.8 Million Twitter followers) joined Nostr. He sent notes to address how big tech is pressured to censor individuals for anything that is deemed by the state “incorrect”. He observed that Nostr could potentially fix this dynamic by removing the corporations involved in online communication completely. Snowden’s endorsement of Nostr has helped to build trust and credibility for the protocol.
All this interest and activity resulted in a 5x growth in the number of profiles in February 2023 as well as other important developments. Nostr also experienced organic growth by thousands of bitcoiners, free-speech advocates, and sovereign individuals sharing their public addresses (npub) through social media and creating content about Nostr. Included in the creative content during this time were the famous purple ostrich AI artwork memes that you may have come across. Nostr is represented by the purple ostrich because the famous bitcoin comedian/content creator/educator @Walker asked ChatGPT to tell him a joke about Nostr and because the mobile app Damus had a purple colour. The purple nostrich became a mascot for Nostr and the idea eventually stuck.
SO WHY NOSTR?
All the major institutions have failed us! The incentives of these 20th-century corporate models do not lead to more freedom of individuals; they lead to more restrictions on individuals. The Bitcoin protocol when it was launched in 2009 changed the game by decentralising money away from the central banks. Now there is a real chance that the Nostr protocol could decentralise communication so individuals no longer need to rely on a few Silicon Valley Tech Giants to communicate their thoughts online without fear of being deplatformed. With Nostr relay servers you can be censored, but you can just jump to another relay that treats you better or just run your own Nostr relay. Like with bitcoin, you cannot be de-protocoled, which is why Nostr is understood to be censorship resistant.
Current social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook have numerous issues. They require a trust model for starters, just like trusting FTX with your bitcoin. But now you must trust them with all your data instead of your assets. They use algorithms to keep users addicted to their platforms. Users have no control over their data. Users are forced to watch ads to consume content. Users can be deplatformed for having a “wrong opinion”. Spam is out of control with no improvement even with Elon Musk as the new CEO of Twitter. Meta just announced rolling out monthly verification subscriptions in Australia and New Zealand to use Meta platforms (Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp) that would require consumers to provide a valid government ID (basically KYC for social media) to access their profile.
The idea of Big Tech working even closer with the government is very alarming. The user effectively becomes a target if unable to comply with government enforcement policies or a criminal who is breaking the law and subject to punishment. Governments want to tie this to your health status, a central bank digital currency (CBDC), your carbon score, and your credit rating. That would be a George Orwell, 1984-style dystopian society. This isn’t a conspiracy theory; it is happening in China at present.
How To Setup Your Nostr Profile In 6 Simple Steps:
- Find a Nostr client/app that suits your needs. All you need to do is create a private key (nsec) to access any client you wish. DO NOT SHARE nsec! Nostr client list:
- Damus for IOS: https://damus.io
- Amethyst for Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vitorpamplona.amethyst&hl=en&gl=US
- Primal.Net for web, IOS and Android. https://primal.net/
- Snort.social for web: https://snort.social
- Getcurrent for both IOS and Android: https://getcurrent.io
- Plebstr for both IOS and Android: https://plebstr.com/
- Iris for web/Android/IOS: https://iris.to
- Astral.ninja for web: https://astral.ninja
- Blogstack for web: https://blogstack.io/
- Coracle.social for web: https://coracle.social/
2. Set up your profile, including bio, profile pic, etc.
3. Make sure you connect some popular relays to have access to a larger audience for better social media experience. Check out these pages, which have huge lists of bitcoiners who are on Nostr with npub addresses: https://bitcoinnostr.com/ and https://nostr.directory/
4. Set up NIP–05 for user readable identification (optional) using sites like https://nostrverified.com/.
5. Set up your Lightning Network wallet for NIP-057 (Zaps ⚡) in profile settings.
6. Find your social media friends and share your npub address on your socials or follow hashtags of your favourite topics in global chat in clients.
Visit nostr.how, nostr.com and nostr.band for great resources to learn more.
WHAT ARE ZAPS ⚡?
Zaps on Nostr are lightning fast tips and payments that can be sent directly to content creators using the Nostr protocol and the Bitcoin lightning network. Zaps launched in mid-February under the Nostr Implementation Possibility NIP-057. The full specifications can be found here: https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nips/blob/master/57.md. Zaps allow users to reward content creators and send payments also using the Nostr protocol directly to P2P via the bitcoin lightning network.
This is just the beginning—a very exciting time for innovation. It's very likely more use cases will arise from these two open protocols integrating—such as marketplaces on Nostr, new advertising models, and funding for development of Nostr. You can watch a video on how Zaps are implemented into the mobile app Damus: https://twitter.com/i/status/1627307668460150786. For privacy focused individuals, Damus just released the optionality for anonymous Zapping. Public Zaps between Nostr users can be viewed here live: https://zaplife.lol/
The lightning network has taken Nostr to the next level. BOLT 12 will take it even further. BOLTs (Basis of Lightning Technology) are essentially BIPs but for Lightning. BOLT 12 would be a dramatic improvement for Lightning and Nostr. BOLT 12 allows for: subscriptions denominated in USD (but settled in sats), static Zapping, and self-custodial Zapping. Lightning development and usage is really starting to take off with the introduction of the Zaps feature to Nostr.
Read “Mastering the Lightning Network” if you wish to learn more about lightning network which can now be read for free here: https://github.com/lnbook/lnbook
Read “https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nostr” if you wish to learn more about the Nostr protocol in more depth.
Join the decentralized social media platform today to see what all the buzz is about. To conclude this blog post, I’d like to share a note from Derek Ross, a contributor to nostrplebs.com:
“Nostr will be the social protocol layer that ties many different applications together. Because of this, I’m bullish on Zaps coming to Other Stuff, not just Notes. Do you like that artist’s song? Zap! Is that pull request a needed feature? Zap! Are you looking forward to that event? Zap! Did that streamer just win their game? Zap! Keep building.”
~Derek Ross (Nostrplebs.com Contributor)
LIST OF THE NOSTR DEVELOPERS AND ADVOCATES MENTIONED:
FiatJaf: npub180cvv07tjdrrgpa0j7j7tmnyl2yr6yr7l8j4s3evf6u64th6gkwsyjh6w6
Jb55: npub1xtscya34g58tk0z605fvr788k263gsu6cy9x0mhnm87echrgufzsevkk5s
Jack Dorsey: npub1sg6plzptd64u62a878hep2kev88swjh3tw00gjsfl8f237lmu63q0uf63m
Edward Snowden: npub1sn0wdenkukak0d9dfczzeacvhkrgz92ak56egt7vdgzn8pv2wfqqhrjdv9
Walker: npub1cj8znuztfqkvq89pl8hceph0svvvqk0qay6nydgk9uyq7fhpfsgsqwrz4u
Derek Ross: npub18ams6ewn5aj2n3wt2qawzglx9mr4nzksxhvrdc4gzrecw7n5tvjqctp424
