Whereas Nostr was based in 2020/2021, it solely actually gained preliminary traction as soon as Will Caserin launched Damus and Jack Dorsey tweeted about it. Just a few months later, the primary Nostr world convention was held in Costa Rica (Nostrica), and issues actually began to maneuver. Over the following 18 months, many — myself included — have been satisfied Nostr was going to take off.
Sadly, fast-forward to late 2025, and progress appears to have stalled. The info means that exercise on Nostr has not solely flatlined however might have even declined, regardless of vital enhancements within the high quality of apps and purchasers constructed on the protocol.
I say that is an statement of the info, not a criticism, as a result of I would like this protocol to succeed and I’m fascinated by what’s occurred.
So… Why Has Nostr Not Lived Up To Its Potential?
I imagine there are two essential causes:
- Competing for content material is troublesome: Content material creators wish to go the place the viewers is and content material customers wish to go the place one of the best creators are. This can be a very exhausting cycle to interrupt, particularly when TikTok, Instagram and X are so good at what they do. I’ve seen firsthand how a lot of a chore it’s for individuals to submit on “yet one more platform,” even when it’s simply copy-pasting the identical content material. It’s too excessive friction for too little reward (therefore the huge drop-off in retention we see on the Nostr stats).
- The censorship resistance boat has sailed. The wanting it’s that not sufficient individuals care. Those that do are on X, Substack and Rumble, not as a result of these platforms are extra censorship resistant, however as a result of they’ve higher advertising departments and may win the narrative struggle. Even Instagram has modified: It’s stuffed with memes and fact bombs that will have gotten you perma-banned solely 6 months in the past. The reality is that folks’s reminiscences are quick and most of them simply don’t have the technical prowess to know why Nostr is superior on this division.
The circumstances for these elements might change.
If, for no matter motive, the incumbent merchandise degrade and their creator bases collapse, whereas Nostr apps concurrently develop into 10 occasions higher than the incumbents, then it would result in a mass migration of creators. Nonetheless, I discover this extremely inconceivable. The groups at X, Meta and ByteDance are too rattling good, their merchandise are too rattling partaking, their high creators get method too many advantages, and their audiences are method too addicted for this to realistically occur.
How concerning the censorship resistance angle? Certain, the panorama would possibly shift once more sooner or later. There might be one other wave of widespread web censorship, and people on Substack, Rumble and X would possibly study the exhausting method. However when would possibly that happen? Two, 5, ten years from now, when the political local weather swings again? The place will Nostr companies and subsequently Nostr be then — particularly if funding for one of the best merchandise dries up as a result of stalled progress? There was a golden window of alternative for this narrative, however for my part, it’s now closed.
As such, I imagine there must be a better, extra sly, roundabout method to do that*.
*Not less than for us as a enterprise — as a result of whereas Nostr is a protocol and may survive lengthy sufficient for an excellent product to return alongside and revive it 10 years from now; we’re a enterprise and we function on a special timeline. We should discover product-market-fit in a a lot shorter timeframe, or we’re toast.
The Chilly Begin Downside
Andrew Chen is certainly one of my favourite thinkers on community results. He was beforehand the top of Rider Development at Uber and authored “The Cold Start Problem” — the most effective books on the subject of community results and market merchandise and platforms.
I’ve learn this ebook twice, and each occasions it strengthened how difficult this drawback is to resolve and the way highly effective the outcomes could be once you do.
In it, Chen discusses 4 essential methods for fixing the chilly begin drawback and attaining preliminary vital mass:
- Invite-only / Waitlists (e.g., Raya, LinkedIn and Fb within the early days)
- Come for the device, keep for the community (DropBox, Yelp, IG)
- Shopping for the exhausting aspect (Uber, Coca-Cola)
- Flintstoning / Simulating Customers (DoorDash, Reddit)
I imagine Nostr, as a community, unintentionally employed the invite-only technique by capturing the Bitcoin neighborhood, creating a robust, concentrated early community (what Chen calls an atomic community). It was area of interest sufficient that it solely attracted particular varieties of individuals (while not having an express invite-only strategy) and there have been sufficient of us there to make the connections and expertise significant. My guess is that that is additionally why it stays energetic immediately.
However, as I stated, as a result of the timing of the merchandise, the tradition and the protocol’s maturity have been barely misaligned, progress has stalled out and for now it’s caught on the similar degree it was 12 months in the past — a bit just like the valence degree for electrons round a nucleus.
To increase the analogy, we now want to spice up this “valence” to unlock a brand new quantum vitality state, and I imagine this requires a new strategy excessive of the present content-focused strategy (one should construct atop the opposite).
Come for the Software, Keep for the Community
We’re in a brand new period of tech, which is driving a renaissance in shopper functions and instruments.
That is largely because of the AI revolution, however Nostr and Bitcoin can play a major position if utilized appropriately as instruments within the stack.
Chen, in his ebook, highlights a few key community functions that have been initially instruments and later grew to become networks, together with Instagram, DropBox and Yelp. The story of Instagram is especially attention-grabbing to me as a result of it was an inspiration for us at Satlantis. It displaced Hipstamatic, a $3.99/month photograph filter app that allowed customers to use filters to, and save photographs to their telephones, which they might later submit to Fb.
Instagram not solely provided related performance totally free but in addition enabled customers to share these edited photographs natively on their very own Instagram profiles whereas additionally making it simple to submit to different social media platforms (Twitter and Fb on the time), from the app.
It went viral as a device (photographs with cool filters shared off-platform) and remained sticky as a result of individuals started constructing profiles and establishing networks on-platform.
I imagine the substances for the following Nostr unlock would possibly lie on this technique (no less than for us and our product).
We’ve been constructing Satlantis as a form of travel-centric social community à la Nostr: based mostly on TripAdvisor, crossed with meetup.com and with an Instagram really feel.
Since releasing the beta at BTCPrague in June, we’ve obtained beneficial consumer suggestions, analyzed utilization patterns and deeply thought-about the true worth of our product.
I have to admit, it hasn’t been a straightforward course of, because it revealed a number of uncomfortable truths.
First, we got down to construct an excessive amount of, too early. This not solely created an immense workload for ourselves (creating a number of apps with distinct performance throughout each net and desktop) but in addition made it extremely troublesome to articulate our product in easy phrases.
Second, I imagine we made an error by prioritizing social options first, and specifically, content material creation. I noticed this late final 12 months, however I used to be nonetheless considerably captivated by the attract of constructing a social app — as a result of, hey, Nostr is a social protocol, proper?
However right here’s the reality, and the massive breakthrough for us: Folks don’t actually need one other social app, no matter whether or not it’s constructed on Nostr. Posting content material is a chore, and having yet one more place to do it provides extra friction, not much less. When it’s a must to push all however essentially the most devoted customers to have interaction (versus them being pulled towards it), you already know it’s not true product-market match.
Nonetheless, it’s not all dangerous information! In any case, Nostr is not only about “notes,” is it? We additionally found that there was actual worth in two very distinct instruments amid the cacophony of options we’d constructed. Instruments that aren’t solely extra slim, clear and express, however which might be additionally enhanced by their relationship to a social community.
Let’s discover what these are and what I imply.
Feeds are highly effective, however they’re additionally very exhausting.
That is an space the place we’ve struggled to distinguish ourselves. I didn’t wish to construct one other Nostr clone with the identical feed, full of the identical content material from the identical individuals you already comply with.
So… as a substitute of replicating present fashions, we experimented. We began with media-only posts first, however discovered that missing so added again textual content, video and pictures. We then integrated a really light-touch algorithm that weights content material not solely by who you comply with but in addition by the pursuits you choose throughout onboarding. This supplies a mix of “for you” content material alongside content material from these you comply with, providing each discoverability and connection.
We additionally made our feed extra multifaceted — a bit like Fb. You may share extra than simply textual content, photographs and video on Satlantis, together with locations and retailers, occasions and delightful collections in a carousel kind (extra on this beneath).
We even determined to keep away from zaps as a result of they don’t seem to be a differentiator amongst Nostr apps, and we needed to create an expertise that will additionally attraction to non-Bitcoiners, hoping to open the doorways to a brand new market. The purpose was to make zaps the icing on the cake, not the draw card itself.
The end result? Properly, it’s nonetheless early days, and whereas some customers recognize the extra dynamic nature of our feed and the flexibility to share various content material, if I’m being trustworthy, it hasn’t “popped.”
Our feeds are neither compelling nor differentiated sufficient. The incumbents are just too good at what they do: Individuals are typically glad to affix and take a look at Satlantis, however they wind up again on IG, X and TikTok as a result of that’s the place all of the motion is. Then again, if we’re all being trustworthy, Nostr already has a transparent winner within the feed division with Primal, and two sturdy runners-up in Damus and Amethyst. So despite the fact that the Satlantis feed feels a bit totally different, it’s nonetheless simply too shut to each different Nostr-client feed — so why ought to anybody swap? Working example:
As such, the feed recreation, no less than for us, is presently not price enjoying. On one hand, it’s an uphill battle towards incumbents, and on the opposite, there isn’t sufficient differentiation. Primal, Damus and Amethyst are all doing this properly and I want all of them the success of their endeavours. I hope they will slowly chip away on the legacy social networks.
So at Satlantis, the query stays: if we’re not going to do a feed, might we nonetheless use the social graph for one thing totally different and extra distinctive? After a very long time spent experimenting and iterating, it appears the reply isn’t solely “sure” however that it was there all alongside, buried below all the feed, social networking and content material noise.
Enter… the Social Discovery Expertise
As an alternative of simply giving individuals extra content material, what if we used the social relationships amongst them to assist floor data like “which of my pals went to or advisable Restaurant X” or “which ones bookmarked place Y” or “which ones are going to occasion Z?”
Ackshually, since an image says greater than 1,000 phrases, as a substitute of me explaining it, let me present you:
As you may see, as a substitute of one other feed, this discovery strategy blends the “social graph intelligence” (I can’t consider a greater time period right here) into the precise device, making it extra helpful.
The result’s an expertise that’s much less like Instagram or X, and, apparently sufficient, extra like Spotify. The uncover tab, which is able to develop into our default expertise, will show you how to immediately see who out of your connections goes to which occasion, advisable a spot, created a group, bookmarked a venue, and many others. What’s cool about that is that we will nonetheless have a feed, however as a substitute of a content material feed, we will make an “exercise feed.” Keep in mind when Fb was cool, and within the early days your wall had updates alongside content material from your folks? Issues like “Aleks simply checked in at ‘x’ place” or made ‘y’ motion.” That is in step with the transfer away from social media and again to social networks as I’ve written about beforehand.
By shifting the social aspect into the background we make the core options of the appliance (the map and occasions) the main focus, however over time, extra beneficial and sticky as extra individuals be part of.
One other solution to say it: The instruments are helpful standalone, however made much more helpful due to the social data embedded into every of them.
And that proper there’s the unlock: The social graph is the GLUE, not the first materials.
Extra Than Simply Extra Content material
Considered one of our guiding ideas is to get individuals off their telephones and again into the actual world. This new shift in product technique helps us try this as a result of, as a substitute of specializing in extra content material and thus incentivizing individuals to spend extra time on their units, we will drive the performance towards precise utility for curators, tastemakers and expertise or occasion hosts.
There are a number of items to this puzzle and it’ll develop, however to start with, we’re going to concentrate on two main areas since they’re the strongest options in our app:
1. Locations and Collections
A Place is something that may be pinned on a map. In time, our map will help each form of place — be it a café or restaurant, a lodge, a lookout, a mountain climbing path or a monument — however presently, it helps the next six classes:
- Cafes and eating places
- Well being and wellness
- Co-working and occasion areas
- Points of interest (pure or man-made, like museums)
- Native markets and specialty meals
- Nightlife
You may already uncover 20,000+ locations in any of those classes, in over 300 cities all over the world, every with wealthy profiles, evaluation summaries, imagery and, most significantly, wealthy interest-tagging (if you happen to’re a Bitcoiner for instance, you may simply discover locations that settle for bitcoin, or if you happen to’re a seed oil disrespector, you will discover locations which might be seed oil free, and many others).
You too can type and filter by class, by vibe, by food plan and delicacies and a lot extra. (FWIW, we even have the most important and most correct record of bitcoin-accepting and seed oil-free locations worldwide).
You too can add locations to the map. That is a part of why we’ve such a lot of listings. You click on the little floating button (storefront with a + image) and simply sort the title of the place you wish to add. We’re plugged into the Google API, so so long as it’s on there, it’s going to come up and all it’s a must to do is say why you prefer it. Our AI pipelines will then go scour the online and create a wealthy profile for it, full with evaluation summaries and pictures inside 24 hours.
Then… my favourite characteristic of all is Collections.
Collections are high-powered bookmark folders that you may create, share and save. Consider them as curated lists — much like playlists on Spotify or temper boards on Pinterest — that you should utilize privately (like an itinerary of locations you wish to see) or publicly as a tastemaker or curator (i.e., high 10 co-working cafés in Bali, high 10 hikes in Boulder, and many others).
Collections are designed to be social, so, like playlists on Spotify, they are often saved and shared, with one of the best ones trending on our discovery tabs. I might say a lot extra, however I already coated it in this article right here, so test that out.
Lastly, and really quickly, additionally, you will be capable of advocate locations. This can be a bit totally different to Google evaluations as a result of we’re not doing star rankings however thumbs up or down and tagging.
That is very highly effective on Satlantis as a result of we will floor the social data (i.e., six of your folks advisable this place) to present you on the spot insights. We are able to additionally make the invention expertise really feel extra magical by surfacing the types of Locations and Collections which might be most advisable by individuals in your social community with whom you share tastes and preferences.
This really emulates actual life and is, for my part, a recreation changer for a way we are going to all expertise maps and the world. See what I’ve circled within the photographs beneath.
Occasions and Calendars
Occasions is self-explanatory, so as a substitute of explaining it intimately, I’ll simply say that what we’re cooking goes to be as easy and polished as Lu.ma with all the highly effective options that it has, however can even provide you with:
- Ticketing in each bitcoin and fiat (with Bitcoin being native, in-app, and very frictionless). This unlocks really international ticketing in a method that’s by no means been achieved earlier than.
- The power to affiliate a spot or a group to an occasion (assume: recommended locations from the occasion organiser and even, 10% off these 10 locations throughout our convention/retreat if you happen to use a particular code)
- Occasion discovery through our social market, which signifies that it’s not simply “what’s occurring close to me” however “what’s occurring close to me that my pals and neighborhood care about.” That is the place the magic of social discovery lies.
- Calendars are collections of occasions. Think about you’re a big convention and also you wish to have official satellite tv for pc occasions operating. You may create a calendar with a novel URL (e.g., satlantis.io/wob-2025) and have everybody who desires to host a aspect occasion create it by means of there. On this method, all official aspect occasions are tied to the primary occasion. That is highly effective for a lot of causes — together with high quality management, ease of discovery, profile progress for the organizer and related Nostr community progress (each new attendee turns into a Nostr consumer and follower).
Sooner or later, we are going to tie off the product expertise with Golf equipment and Communities and full the three pillars of Satlantis: Folks, Locations and Occasions.
However since there is sufficient to do with simply Locations and Occasions, and Folks is considerably taken care of by the social aspect inherent within the app (you may comply with individuals, have interaction, chat [soon] and many others), we are going to fear about it later.
In Closing
Nostr has the potential to develop into the social layer of the web and beat the incumbents at their very own recreation, however that can take time.
It can additionally require the “lead bullets” strategy, that means that nobody strategy will likely be sufficient. Some apps will take the social angle, like Primal, Damus, and many others whereas others, like Satlantis, will take the utility-first strategy.
The great thing about Nostr is that every of those merchandise has a typical social layer and profile ID (nPub) so customers can accrue advantages throughout the entire protocol.
For Satlantis, this new strategy is about creating a wholly new class of device that quietly turns into indispensable, the place the social graph enhances utility as a substitute of demanding consideration. We’re extra on the “different stuff” aspect of the equation, even when we’re not but able to suggest full-on NIPs for Occasions and Locations simply but (we are going to as soon as we’ve fleshed out the options extra).
By shifting from feeds and content material to discovery and context, we will create a product that enhances actual life and real-world experiences, whereas purple-pilling everyone below the hood.
That’s the sly, roundabout path ahead: constructing instruments individuals really want, then letting the community emerge as a pure consequence of utilizing these superior instruments.
If you wish to see it in motion, you may obtain the app here.
