So I have been on Nostr about a month and I know it is the future of communications and many forms of commerce.  Nostr is not a platform, it is a protocol.  You can use your choice of popular clients to access it.  This may seem confusing until you compare it to another service that is a protocol, email.

Let’s say you use Proton Mail and I use my own server here at TSP and Outlook as my client.  When you send me an email, I get it and respond to it, it isn’t confusing is it?  Just think of it like that.  The beauty is who censors your email?

The biggest complaint members of my audience make about Nostr is the sheer dominance of Bitcoin content.  This is understandable.  Nostr uses a means of identification and account management very similar to Bitcoin, it has Bitcoin Lightning integration and Bitcoiners tend to be somewhat techy nerds and early adopters.  Hence mostly Bitcoin type folks were the first to see Nostr’s potential and get on it.

There is a finite limit to growth though with any topic on social media and instead of complaining about one topic dominance I think it is time we focus on the solution, let’s talk about other stuff.  What other stuff?  Honestly any other stuff, but from my community we of course love permaculture, homesteading, gardening, pepping, entrepreneurship, lifestyle design and threat analysis.

Think about social media though as a whole people post whatever they most want to share.  Stuff they cook, recipes, pet pictures, etc.  And Nostr could do well to have more such content.  So I want to launch from the TSP community this week, the “Let’s Grow on Nostr” initiative.

To do this we can utilize hash tags and I propose for this one, #grownostr

It is short, simple, says what it does and is easy to remember. The concept of Grow here is as follows….

• Grow Nostr Itself – To fulfill it’s destiny Nostr has to be about more than just Bitcoin and Zapathons.
• Grow As Individuals – Knowledge is what helps us grow and develop our lifestyle designs.
• Grow Our Networks – Connections to others improve our adaptability to a shifting economy and world
• Grow as Communities – All of the above are strengthened by networks strong sub communities

I want to be clear my goal has nothing to do with less Bitcoin content only more content over all.  I post and will continue to post Bitcoin content daily.  I just want more people connecting on more subjects.

So I am launching this today with a 90 day challenge.  If you are reading this 2 weeks or more after I wrote it, don’t sweat it, it will be ongoing and you can just start any time.  Here are the steps to take every day to make it work…

1. Commit to and make at least 2 posts a day on Nostr, they can be about anything except Bitcoin.  Pics of your dogs, gardens, stuff you are doing to work out, work you are doing on your business, news stories, anything except Bitcoin.
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2. Hash tag these posts with #grownostr also tag them with some other relevant tags.  Say #permaculture or #keto or #business or whatever is relevant just don’t leave out the #grownostr tag it is the keystone tag.
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3. Everyday check the #grownostr feed a time or three and follow at least 2 if not more people you don’t know in that feed based on common interests.  DM them and let them know you did.
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4. Check your DMs follow back anyone who DM’d you and followed you in their step 3.
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5. Make at least 4 comments in posts tagged #grownostr every day
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6. Zap at least two people using the tag #grownostr every day, this can be say 50 sats, or about a penny in USD.

If you are not using the Lightning Network yet don’t sweat it but you are going to want to link a wallet because sending and getting zaps is fun and we are building a value for value network here.  If we do this and get others on Nostr participating we can all have larger and stronger networks and more connections in just 90 days.

People tell me “I can’t get traction on Nostr” and I understand.  It is like walking into a room where you don’t know anyone and the conversation seems dominated by just one subject and everyone is already in tight nit groups.  That isn’t what is really going on but it can feel that way.  This is how we get traction for everyone.

And if the above seems like a lot, it isn’t.

The 6 steps a day could be easily accomplished in about 5 minutes a day.  Open your client, make a post, include your hashtag of #grownostr and any other relevant tags.  Click your own #grownostr tag in your post and look at the recent posts, pick two or more that are interesting and follow the people who made them.  Send them a quick DM, I found you in the #grownostr initiative and followed you.  Check your own DMs and follow back your new followers from the initiative.  Make at least 4 comments on 4 separate posts, done.

Of course it will also make sense to do more if you want to get more out of it.  Say you see a post in #grownostr and it is interesting and includes a tag like #backyardchickens and you like that subject.  Well once you follow the person who posted it click on #backyardchickens and see if anyone there is someone you want to follow.

As we do this we will begin connecting not just with people in the initiative, but those who are not.  When I floated this idea on Nostr over the weekend someone commented and said, “use tag #permies lots of us already are”.  My response was I wanted something more broad but thanks for letting me know.  I checked the #permies feed and there was tons of cool non Bitcoin content and actually a few posts I was tagged in asking me questions about permaculture.

And BOOM!  That showed this concept is already at play it is just isn’t being done with intent at a higher level.  I also figured out on some Nostr clients (I use Snort as my web client) you can follow hash tags.  So follow #grownostr and any other interesting ones.

Let’s do this!  Let’s embrace true freedom, total open source and more.  I am watching client app developers add features weekly, many we have wanted a long time on other platforms.  When you think about it, it makes sense.  Say you are on Twitter with 1500 followers and Company XYZ releases a feature you want Twitter to add.  You’re stuck, you have to go to this new place and start from 0.  Then Twitter adds a different feature you also want, etc. Since these companies control who sees what you are always stuck and innovation is stifled.

But if I love Snort but they don’t add something I want, I just use Iris or Damas or whatever.  This creates a rapid development pathway.  Devs are building for Nostr like crazy, no giant committees of self important assholes around tables debating whether you should be able to say have a feature or not.  Just rapid development and if you don’t keep up you die.  A real free market and it is just starting.

Join me and let’s #grownostr and grow our individual networks, communities and connections together.

~ Note – Today’s Episode #3288 will be Dedicated to Nostr and this initiatitive, but if you need help getting onto Nostr, check out Nostr.how for all the info you need to get set up, guides to specific clients, etc. and check out WTF is Nostr and Is it Unstoppable – Epi-3265 where I interviewed  David Bennet host of “The Bitcoin And… Podcast” about getting started with Nostr.