The recent cyberattacks on X & increasingly rampant censorship on all social media platforms make it ever more apparent that an alternative is needed. That alternative seems to already be here in the form of NOSTR. If you are new to NOSTR & looking for a quick/easy way to get started, look no further! This guide will walk you through the basic steps to sign up & start using NOSTR without any unnecessary complications. It might seem like a lot to take in but, realistically, you can sign up in a matter of seconds.
Step 1: Choose a NOSTR client
Step 2: Create your NOSTR account
Step 3: Set up your profile
Understanding NOSTR
NOSTR (an acronym for “Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relays”) is a decentralized social network protocol that allows users to interact with & send messages to others without relying on a central server. While the interface is extremely similar to X—making it entirely intuitive to former Twitter users—unlike X, it’s secure, private & can’t be censored. Furthermore, since there is no central server & relays are peer-to-peer, literally every single computer/device accessing NOSTR would need to be attacked simultaneously in order for NOSTR to go down, rendering it immune to cyberattacks. There is also no advertising. Of course, anybody can post anything, but with there being no central server to dictate an algorithm & boost posts inorganically in exchange for money, there is no one for advertisers to pay in order for their reach to be boosted, so they just don’t bother. I have yet to see any company post any sort of product promotion on NOSTR. If you are sick of nonstop ads on social media, this is the paradise you’ve been waiting for. Lastly, in case it wasn’t already obvious, NOSTR is entirely free. There are no signup fees, premium memberships or any other charges. No company owns NOSTR, allowing you to connect with the world directly without a middleman profiting from users or advertisers. With all of these great things going for it, I think the real reason most people don’t use NOSTR is they simply don’t know about it, but now YOU do, so here’s how you can use it.
Step 1: Choose a NOSTR Client
Being a web protocol instead of a corporation, nobody owns NOSTR, so countless people & companies are building ways to access it. These access points are called “Clients.” Select a NOSTR client to use. Some popular options include:
Step 2: Create Your NOSTR Account
- Visit the Client’s Website: Go to the website of your chosen NOSTR client.
- Sign Up/Generate Your Keys: Signing up on any client will generate a public key & a private key pair for you.
Your public key will look like a random string of letters & numbers, not a username like “Necrolicious.” In my case, my public key as of this writing is npub1z447ssqrj9mg6ghdacu9dxh2vydj6yejgcw4ktvt2a0ums2ugzms37875t. This is how you can find me on any NOSTR client & know that’s really me despite the fact that anybody can write Necrolicious as their name on any profile. For easy identification, public keys are prominently displayed on all NOSTR profiles. This is a security feature that presents an extreme impediment to impersonators attempting to scam people with the use of celebrity names & such, making NOSTR much safer than most other platforms, who do nothing about such scam accounts.
Your private key is like your password & can be used across clients. For example, if you don’t like the interface of Iris, you can use it to log into Primal to start using NOSTR there if that interface suits you better. Important: As soon as you have generated it, save your private key in a secure place & never share it with anyone! Again, since NOSTR is not owned by anyone, there is no support, & therefore there is NO way to recover your account if your private key is lost, stolen, or compromised! It cannot be stressed enough how extremely careful you need to be with your private key.
Step 3: Set Up Your Profile
- Log In: Use your private key to log in to your preferred NOSTR client.
- Customize Your Profile: Add your name, profile picture, bio, banner, & other details to personalize your account.
That’s All! Start Posting!
You are now using NOSTR. Share it on whatever remaining mainstream social media platforms you are migrating off of. You can also search for & follow other NOSTR users by their public keys. Again, anybody can use any name on NOSTR, so the way to verify that you’re speaking to a legitimate account is by their public key, NOT the name written on their account.
BONUS Options:
- Mobile Apps: With mainstream social media platforms prioritizing mobile devices, NOSTR could hardly be called cutting edge if it didn’t also utilise this technology. As with desktop-based NOSTR clients, there are many NOSTR clients available in the form of mobile apps, but which you are able to use depends on your device. Personally, I use Amethyst.
- Built-in Monetisation: What’s the point of being on social media without the potential of getting paid, right? As I said earlier, no company owns NOSTR, so no company can make profits off of it in order to pay content creators in the way that other social media does. However, being a peer-to-peer protocol, users can “zap” each other. What are zaps? Micropayments in the form of Bitcoin. These may seem minuscule, but ostensibly can add up over time. I would like to clarify that it is neither required to send zaps nor receive zaps to use NOSTR. It is entirely voluntary. Since grasping a new technology is already complicated enough as it is, I don’t want to get into it too deeply in this article, but there is a wealth of other resources available online, so I will leave it up to anyone who is interested in zapping to research it further.
- Enhanced Password Protection: As stated above, your private key/password must basically be guarded with your life, or you will lose your entire account permanently (including any zaps you may have accumulated). While you can use your private key/password to log in to various clients, some consider the risk of spreading access to their private key/passwords even that much too risky. For enhanced private key/password protection, extensions such as Alby exist. These are basically like a middleman who protects your private key/password while granting you access across NOSTR clients. As always, research & verify all extensions before downloading or signing in.
- FOLLOW ME: As stated above, my public key is npub1z447ssqrj9mg6ghdacu9dxh2vydj6yejgcw4ktvt2a0ums2ugzms37875t. I don’t think there’s anybody else using the Necrolicious name right now but, if there ever is, the way to verify that you’ve got the right account is my public key. For easy access, here is a QR code that will link you directly to my account. Hope to see you there!
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