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 It's a chicken-and-egg problem.

Nostr is boring, so I'm boring.

As long as I have Twitter, where almost everything I say gets some sort of reaction, I have no incentive to put 10x more effort in here for 1/10 the engagement. 
 Ok ttyl 
 Anyway who should I follow? We'll see if you're right 
 https://image.nostr.build/1f70ac6d6ef9be45d671bf431f3916f1616c83a17af562046a562bf52d022a51.gif 
 would love some specific recommendations, this isn't useful xD 
 Here you go: 

nostr:nevent1qqstw67p7cfl6xl7fah2za274gmg762ve223azzeq3yqk7tm45jqp3qpr3mhxue69uhkummnw3ezumt4w35ku7thv9kxcet59e3k7mgpr9mhxue69uhhqatjv9mxjerp9ehx7um5wghxcctwvsq3jamnwvaz7tms09exzmtfvshxv6tpw34xze3wvdhk6qgjwaehxw309ac82unsd3jhqct89ejhx39jn22 
 Thanks! 
 That’s not how it works. Everyone here put in the work to build legitimate connections and actually engage with each other. I don’t have the time or desire to spoon-feed follow recommendations to someone who’s probably just going to give up anyway. Everyone’s follows are public, you can just steal them. 
 I don't want to follow *everyone*; that sounds like a recipe for all noise no signal 
 Hey Chris, gfy we don't need you 
 And yet it’s not. The users are the algorithm. You add and remove them to find the right balance. Like I’m removing you now because I’m tired of talking to a brick wall. 
 lol, k, bye 
 nostr:nevent1qqsv9qhewhft95mqh78wq389h5dt2edtekar4eyjtx3zre7gfqscs4spr9mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuumwdae8gtnnda3kjctv9upzq6dq5zgskjdpm0aufe83phezkkqx4a2q8g3gyemr3uhfpryksg5dqvzqqqqqqykvhps7 
 nostr:nprofile1qqsdjh7hwew7zxs96h46u32qdfrvfv7c7plrn28gajafdwsnmhk7tgqpz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0wd68ytnsw43qzxthwden5te0wfjkccte9eeks6t5vehhycm99ehkuegpr4mhxue69uhkummnw3ez6atn9e3k76twve6kuerfwshxxmmdse53tr 
 Not excited about following robots

I like two-sided conversations 
 Bye, then. We were doing fine here without you. 
 Lol. Everyone on Twitter is like "Nostr is so happening, post your npubs!"

Then I get on here and it's like "go away heathen" 😆 
 The first thing you did was take a shit on our doorstep after being invited in. Go away, heathen. 
 Lol, I've been on Nostr for almost 2 years. Fuck off, asshole 
 Two years and you’ve done absolutely nothing, nobody even noticed your profile existed.
https://image.nostr.build/fc9f7e89aa5fd52fb971eee897fa23a82f7ed5be0e0411a687258278ecc36c3e.png 
 I've already explained why, literally in the OP xD 
 And how is 100 posts "absolutely nothing"?? 
 Your timing sucks 

Hi! I’m here! Engage with me 👉 
 What does "timing" have to do with it? 
 Everything. 
 Can you elaborate? What does "good timing" look like? 
 This 
 What is "this"?

Do you mean what I'm doing now? 
 Chris, if you want nostr to be interesting for you, you just need to 'fix the filters'
Raw nostr is silence or all noise, and the few you've followed make it tubbleweeds. 
Give the relays and clients a reason to serve you the notes (ie follow more people). 

Or, just log in with someone else's npub and see what nostr looks like for them. 

Either way, just logging in occasionally and not customizing your experience is a sure fire way for it to seem like it's stagnant or uninteresting. 

 
 Ok, it just doesn't feel like it'll be worth all the effort.

I feel like I'm following everyone I know. I don't like following random accounts because they're more likely to generate noise than be useful.

But maybe that's the trick? Maybe on Nostr you have to follow people to see whether they'll be worth following? 
 Maybe it’s starting to click for you now. 
 Yep, and look out for good content boosted by someone you follow, then follow the op. 

That's the only way to get a diverse feed, since there is no algo tailored to keeping your eyeballs engaged so you see injected adverts. 
 
 Honestly I prefer some kind of algorithm to do most of the work. And I pay for Twitter so I don't have to see ads.

I'd do the same on here if some client implemented it. Nostr clients could curate their users' feeds and charge for the service. The advantage of course is that the algorithm would be open and user-configurable. I think that'd be a huge value add. 
 How about…. No. 😂 
 It would be opt-in, so what would be the problem?  I think it would be cool to have many different options available like this, all of them hopefully transparent in how they work. 
 I look forward to your proposal and implementation of this!  
 That's definitely where we're headed. And way beyond.

Consider that with nostr anyone can implement their own platform, or features. Anyone. And everyone on nostr will already be registered and can start immediately. 
 It all depends on what you’re looking for? Engagement? Come to cornychat.com around 4pm EST 
 What's that? Just a group voice call? 
 yes.  if you want your timeline to show anything fun you need to follow about 900 more people.. find em in global, find em with DVM feeds, find em in conversations etc.  you can always unfollow but your feed will not grow itself.. 
 No, I never just follow accounts blindly. This is what many recommend but I actually recommend against it. 
I always read every note and reply they’ve made for the past 1-2 weeks before following. If I like them enough, only then do I follow. Your criteria are up to you, but that’s what I do. 
 I like the low time preference approach. That works too, as long as you’re not impatient. 
 lol I actually have a backlog of people to look into. 
 I used to keep a text file of people’s npubs before clients had searchable tags so I could find my friends more quickly. 😂 
 If I’d done that I wouldn’t have lost 200 ish of my follows 😢 
 Try this: https://metadata.nostr.com 
 Yeah, because this happened to me I asked a question in this note and got a lot of good tips. 

nostr:note10rmngg3gr53x2n7alrvhtlxjn4evpkrwhy3rvq4wvjekcv4zxz6qpetm5t 
 Haha still have a note with just that 
 Cool, this is how I do Twitter. I only follow people once I know I'm interested in hearing what they're gonna say

But I guess that kinda doesn't work on here when you're first starting out, since there's no algorithm to suggest other people you're not following that you might be interested in following. 
 So the true thing people say is “we are the algorithm” — you’ll run into people posting about interests you have (via hashtags) and people who those you follow are interacting with, either through conversation or through reposting their stuff. 

I’ve never had Twitter but I think this way is good enough for me. The experiences I’ve personally had with algorithms elsewhere have led me not to trust them to actually account for my real desires of what I want to spend time on.  YMMV! 
 Interesting. I usually have good experiences with algorithms, at least Twitter's and YouTube's. I guess I'm just that kind of personality. 
 My experience with the algos was that I kept getting served worse and worse content, to the point where I could only assume it was intentionally designed to make people feel anger and start conflicts.

Under the new regime it seems to have been engineered to recommend some of the most insane toxic accounts by default even if you had just set up an private account with only a few followers just to post the funny things your kids say. 

I had to completely detach from that internet sewer. I also gave up an account I had since 2008 with several thousand followers, but where almost nobody ever noticed or replied to me. 

Going just by “engagement” alone, I’m way up after 2 years on Nostr. 
 Your relays are dead, looks like you never bothered to learn about them. 
 I literally packaged a relay for Start9 
 LOL, I figured out your problem for you. You're literally using a dead link to a Twitter PFP for your avatar. 🤣
https://image.nostr.build/c8c448d2464bc2fc209c24f62dfc4dd6d5b7e7481dd25eecad0d2a570e7b8cfd.jpg 
 Great thanks! Guess I need a better place to host my avatar then... 
 Primal does it for you, otherwise there’s nostr.build. 
 Fixed, thanks!

Now I just need a client that doesn't require an NWC wallet for zaps... 
 NWC is awesome, don’t knock it.

Otherwise Damus for iOS or Amethyst for Android probably your best bet.

Wallet of Satoshi and Phoenix no longer support the U.S. and you need a Lightning address to receive zaps. 
 I have nothing against NWC, I just don't have any wallets that support it.

I'd of course be willing to try an NWC-enabled wallet if people recommend one 
 @Alby Hub, it’s the best. You can run it self-custodially on your node. You just need an invite code. 
 Ok, I've heard good things, I'll give it a try 🙏 
 DM me if you need an invite code, brother. And no hard feelin’s, I’m glad to see you giving it a go. 🫂 
 You've been here for two years and still can't figure it out?

With all due respect but I think Facebook is a more appropriate venue for you.

Give it a try, I'm sure you'll fit right in. 
 No, I think I've figured it out.

I've figured out that it's boring. 
 And we figured out that you're boring 
 I invite you to consider that you might be addicted to the dopamine hits you get on twitter and if that's really how you want to live. 
 Yes, of course I get dopamine from Twitter. Dopamine doesn't exist for no reason. I tells you when you're doing something worthwhile, at least when it's functioning properly.

Nostr is the opposite of that.

I come on here and post dozens of messages and barely get any replies. 
 Do you follow me yet? 
 I do now 
 "Dopamine doesn't exist for no reason. I tells you when you're doing something worthwhile, at least when it's functioning properly."

Chris do you think  that relying on a closed-source algorithm to tell you what you're doing is worthwhile, by literally controlling your neurophysiology, might have some downsides?

"Nostr is the opposite of that.".

Well, yes it is 😁 
 The algorithm isn't telling me what I'm doing is worthwhile; my dopamine is.

It is not necessarily true that "the algorithm" is controlling my dopamine. Yes, sometimes I get addicted to things, including Twitter, but there is also value there as well. I have conversations on Twitter where I learn things and connect with people, and that's what keeps me coming back.

Here that doesn't seem to happen. It just feels like shouting into the wind. 
 Well honestly "shouting" doesn't feel like it's going to be very good for your soul wherever you do it.

I suspect nostr will become like twitter eventually, because people really are susceptible to this kind of addiction, and will demand it.  (Tho at least here the algorithms can be open source.)

So maybe check back here in a year or so and it will be able to supply the feelings you want. Especially when eg telegram users have been driven here.  And who knows how long Elon will hold out against the entire western government elite.

Personally I found it a relief to be able to escape the manic compulsion that twitter instils in you, but still feel connected to something.  
 That's just the thing, I don't feel "connected to anything" on here, but I do on Twitter.

"Whispering into the wind" seems like it would be even less effective 😆

I appreciate the comments, though 🧡 
 I agree, it is much slower on nostr because that is reality.  More isn't always better.  You sound like a fat person complaining that the restaurant isn't all you can eat. 😛 
 classic decentralized media.

not nostr specific

go back to Twitter lol 
 It is hard for people to make that transition, like going on a diet when they have been fed junk food for all of their life. 
 That’s the analogy. Twitter is the HFCS and MSG of the internet. 
 No, I just like restaurants that have fast service ;) 
 Oh I know that you like them, I am just saying that a longer meal can be appreciated more if you have the patience. 🙃 
 Sir, this is a Wendy’s. 
 I thought this was Taco Bell 🤔 
 I’m at the combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. 
 Ok, but that's for me to decide, not the restaurant.

A restaurant with chronically slow service is not a good restaurant because occasionally it coincides with my desire to have a slow experience. It's just a bad restaurant.

A restaurant with chronically fast service is a gold restaurant because I can choose to have a fast experience or a slow experience depending on the context. 
 Your time preference likes is your call. Some people are short-term others are long-term.  You don't have to prove anything to me, I am just some guy on the internet.  Enjoy your haMbUrGer 😉 
 LOL..."for...engagement"

nostr is not for Engagement Farming!!

Engagement Farmers will be disappointed.

Pura Vida!  

🤙⚡💚 
 I'm not "engagement farming". I'm seeking genuine engagement. You know, like conversations with people. 
 That’s literally most of what goes on here, between memes and shitposting. It’s a different vibe than what you get on other places. More chill and space to think. It’s not like drinking from a firehose. 
 Hmm I guess what I like about Twitter is the fast pace.

I can just open it up, see there's a bunch of notifications and answer them.

Then often others will immediately respond and we can have kind of a public conversation in real time.

Then I can go do something else for a bit, and when I come back I know more notifications will be waiting.

This place just feels emptier and slower-paced.

But sure, I guess that's due to it being more manual-control