Daryn Cavalier on Nostr: Does Nostr have a content problem? There is a lot of talk about Nostr being an echo ...

Does Nostr have a content problem?



There is a lot of talk about Nostr being an echo chamber which leads to poor user retention. While it is true that the platform is currently full of BTC maxis and ‘normies” may not find much of the content to be to interesting or engaging I think there is an important distinction that we need to make.

As most nostr users are aware, the dollar is broken. Fiat is morally erosive and malice compounding. It is a broken and distorted incentive.

Content creators should strive to create value.

What does the content on our current social platforms look like? Is it actually valuable?

Brett Cooper pulls in millions of views by watching other videos and then reading the comments. We are literally watching someone watch a video and then read a publicly viewable comment. Now, admittedly these and similar videos are... Im not sure entertaining is the correct word but they are 1. Attention grabbing – They often have click baity titles that echo topics of social polarization that make them very enticing to click on. 2. Once you start watching them I think we are all familiar with loosing large amounts of time stuck in a scroll loop.

So, my question is. Is this type of content VALUABLE?

I don’t think it is. I think most of the content is quite literally engineered to manipulate human psychology and steal our attention. Content creators create their content and specifically design it with the algorithm of the platform of choice in mind. An algorithm born from a distorted fiat model, designed to capture and retain human attention, then monetize it.

How is this ok? When attempting to describe our current content creation model would it be inaccurate to say...

Content creators are incentivized and rewarded to create addictive content which is then intentionally fed to an audience. The platforms that deploy these algothrims then distribute the content with the intention of addicting their audience. The nature of this content and its delivery then makes it possible to steal, manipulate, and package human attention which is then sold for profit.

So, does Nostr have a content problem? Does Nostr, does our culture, do we, do I, want this type of content to migrate, breed, and reproduce on this platform?

Nostr was created with freedom in mind. Build upon hard money, not fiat. Built by people with a different set of values.

I don’t think I or we or anyone knows what type of content will be created when driven by hard money, driven from a truthful incentive. What kind of value content creators will provide.

What we have is an identity problem. This community is very young and the ideas, values and principles that brought us together are unfamiliar to the vast majority of people around us. Instead of trying to lure content creators, who have mastered the fiat game, with large audiences over to Nostr we should be focused ourselves. On finding our identity.