Why I’m choosing decentralized social media (Nostr) and you should too

Apps such as those provided by Meta (Facebook, Instagram, Threads) and X make you a product. Growth? Well, unless you’re famous, Facebook, Instagram, and X are basically pay-to-play.

You simply grow the pockets of billionaires who couldn’t care less about you. They just want your money for ads, your impressions for ads, and your content to grow their AI. While I’ll still post articles and pictures occasionally on other social media (except X), I won’t be spending my life there. And I recommend you scale way back as well for your mental health and those around you. Here’s some basic problems.

Problems with X

X showed promise many, many months back. It was to be an app for creators. However, Musk rewarded (still does to some extent) people who only post one-liners, steal other people’s content, and comment back and forth with useless and meaningless posts.

Don’t believe me? Do a deep dive on X. The platform was NEVER about “freedom of speech”. It was just a marketing gimmick. In addition, it was never about creators (artists, photographers, writers, journalists, videographers, etc).

X is about Elon Musk and what benefits him the most (a great data set for AI and advertisement). X is no longer a vibrant place to connect or build community, a major shift away from its earlier appeal. The platform’s focus seems to have moved toward news aggregation or algorithm-driven content, which feels less engaging for some.

With an influx of low-quality content, including clickbait, bot-driven posts, and excessive advertising, this shift has made X feel like a “giant advert”, diluting any meaningful interactions. Added to this, X has become a pretty toxic environment (while Twitter was much the same). The platform’s algorithm often prioritizes AI-generated content, engagement bait, or posts from established accounts, burying genuine creative work. Artists see that text posts about their art gain more traction than the art itself, making it hard to reach new audiences without an existing following. Even then, people aren’t really there to support artists. I couldn’t play the game. My life and time are more valuable. I’m on the struggle bus in life, and hopes and aspirations for X only made it worse because it isn’t truly a platform for creators.

X’s Creator Revenue Sharing Program is unreliable, with issues like exploitation by click farms and limited revenue potential for most creators. Many artists find it difficult to translate metrics (views, likes) into meaningful growth or financial support, and platform support for creators is pretty inadequate.

X has become less about art and more about AI. X’s updated Terms of Service (October 2024) allow user content—text, images, videos—to be used for AI training without an opt-out option. With AI scraping our work, and others posting nothing but AI posing as art. It’s not. You didn’t create it. You put in a prompt that created something based on stolen work. We put our blood, sweat, and tears into things as artists — our time and our money.

Problems with Meta products

Like X, Meta’s policies allow user content, including artwork, to be used for AI training without a clear opt-out, raising concerns among artists about their work being exploited to develop AI models that could replicate or compete with their creations.

Meta’s algorithms often prioritize AI-generated or engagement-driven content, making it difficult for artists to gain organic reach. Many posts are deprioritized unless we pay for ads, and even then, success is inconsistent. Not to mention, they allow clickfarms and obviously encourage it because it makes them money. While Meta Ads have helped some musicians and creators grow their audience, the platforms’ monetization options are limited and heavily reliant on paid promotion.

As an artist, you’ll find it challenging to convert engagement into sustainable income, and the ad system is often seen as favoring larger accounts or low-quality content. So, don’t plan on monetization there either.

Getting followers, likes, website visits, and the likes are easy — if you pay for it. And then guess what, you just had a lot of meaningless visits.

Finally, moderation is simply broken. While Meta has relaxed some content moderation guidelines, artists still face inconsistent censorship, with artwork flagged or removed for vague reasons like “community standards” violations.

This creates uncertainty and limits creative expression. Report something that clearly violates their rules and you’ll see that many times the content is allowed to remain, especially if its coming from one side of a political spectrum.

So, with the problems of X and Meta, I’ve moved on to Nostr.

What is Nostr?

Nostr is a decentralized protocol for sharing information online, like messages, posts, or even small bits of data. Think of it as a free, open system where people can talk to each other without a big company (like X or Facebook) controlling things.

A breakdown:

• You have a key: A unique digital “signature” (like a password) that proves it’s you posting.
• Messages go to relays: These are computers run by anyone, anywhere, that store and share your posts with others. However, you can be shut down by a relay for horrible conduct, but you’ll always own your information.
• No central boss: Unlike social media, no single company owns or controls Nostr, so it’s harder to censor or shut down.
• Open for all: Anyone can join, post, or build apps that use Nostr to chat, share, or even create things like blogs or marketplaces.

Basically, it’s like a public square on the internet where you’re in charge of your own voice, and no billionaire controls everything.

Simplified by using an app such as Primal

The Primal App, accessible via primal.net or their iOS and Android apps, is a decentralized social media platform and Bitcoin wallet built on the Nostr protocol. It emphasizes user privacy, freedom of expression, and resistance to de-platforming. Some of the features include:

• Social media: Primal offers a smooth, fast interface with customizable feeds, content discovery, and easy onboarding for Nostr users. It supports “zaps” (Bitcoin microtransactions) for seamless tipping or payments, integrated with WebLN-enabled wallets like Breez, Blixt, or Alby. Clearly, some may not like the payment system because they’d rather be tipped or paid with traditional currency.
• Bitcoin wallet: It includes a built-in Bitcoin wallet and an optional hosted wallet service for storing small amounts of Bitcoin. Frankly, I couldn’t give a cent about digital currency. While it’s great in thought, it’s currently just like the stock market. People are pushing it to make money rather than as a decentralized currency. I see all the same problems as with current monetary systems. If we have a major depression, what good would it be to feed myself or others? Remember, the worth of anything is only as high as others perceive it. Digital currency does me no good in the stretch of life. Heck, my retirement plan is to have some land that is paid off so I’ll be able to grow food freely. Moreover, why are all these crypto bros so active on X rather than Nostr?
• Privacy and freedom: Collects minimal personal data to maximize user privacy and is designed to prevent censorship, aligning with Nostr’s decentralized ethos.
• Premium features: Offers a Primal Check service, providing personalized usernames for premium users. This makes it easier for people to search for you. When you sign up, you get an “NPUB”, which is a 58-character unique identifier. It’s easier just to search for something like “naturecrank@primal.net”. There are also free services that will provide you a verified name (as an email address basically), or you can use your own website for verification. However, note that this verification is not the same as verification for X or Meta, whereby you submit a government ID. This just verifies that it’s actually your account. Anyone can use the name “NatureCrank” (TM) but you know it’s me based upon connection to my verified name “naturecrank@primal.net”.
• Availability: Available on iOS, Android, and web, with source code accessible on GitHub.

Unlike traditional platforms, Primal leverages Nostr’s open protocol for decentralized communication, aiming for a censorship-resistant social experience just like other apps such as Damus, Nostur, and Amethyst. And no, I’m not paid to recommend any of these apps, but an app will make things much easier. If you set up an account, you’ll just want to backup your NPUB and NSEC (technically your password) either digitally or offline. Never share your NSEC with others or post it publically.

Do your own research but an app will make it easier for most users to get on the network. Just remember to keep your private key — private.