Every social media platform that you use is owned by giant companies that use your data to make money and, furthermore, dictate what you can and cannot talk about. They “control” your freedom of speech, deciding who can speak and who cannot.
Nostr stands for “Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relays.” Nostr is a simple protocol that enables a decentralized and censorship-resistant global social media platform.
How does Nostr work?
The Nostr protocol is simple and consists of two components: a client and a relay.
A client is what you use to interact with the Nostr protocol, similar to how you use the Twitter or Instagram app. The client serves as a medium for interacting with the Nostr protocol.
The content you post using a client is sent to one or more relays. These relays then broadcast your post to other users on the network who view the post using their client.
How is Nostr censorship-resistant?
Nostr’s decentralized nature makes it resistant to censorship. When you post content on Nostr, it is broadcasted to multiple relays. Even if one relay goes offline or you get banned from one relay, your post remains available on all the other relays. Additionally, you can run your own relay, allowing others to fetch your posts and ensuring you always have a voice. Nostr ensures that you can never be censored.
Getting started with Nostr
To begin using Nostr, you need to have a client.
Here are some clients that you can use:
Web: iris.to & snort.social
Desktop: Lume
iOS: Damus
Your access to Nostr is not tied to a specific client, and you can use multiple clients to access your account. I use Iris, Lume, and Plebster on different devices.
Once you have installed a client, you need to create a public/private key pair. Your Nostr client will automatically generate one for you during the onboarding process.
Your public key serves as your username on Nostr and allows other users to find you.
Nostr uses a private key to validate your identity. Treat your private key like a password and never share it with anyone. Keep it safe and secure.
What’s next?
Once you are on Nostr, you can find people to follow using nostr.directory and nostr.band.
Nostr offers many more features specified under Nostr Implementation Possibilities or NIPs.
We will explore NIPs in a later blog post. You can read more about Nostr on nostr.com & nostr.how
For now, welcome aboard!
You can find me on Nostr at [email protected]