For a long time I have had an interest in alternate corners of the Internet. In the last year I've delved into:
- the small but thriving BBS scene
- small/indie web
- pubnixes
- Gemini protocol
- (the long-lived) IRC
...and now Nostr (sorry, but Mastodon doesn't interest me).

The culture here is very different from other places. The most striking difference is the push toward new tech vs efforts to make old tech more accessible and usable. This new decentralized tech competes with and expands on web 2.0, but has the same premise of how we connect with each other. Other experiences like web 1.0 and Gemini encourage you to discover, and take in information deliberately and slowly.

Another significant difference here is the emphasis on currency and economy (value for value), where other communities have intentionally isolated from any commercialism or exchange of value. Many on Gemini/small web are anarchist or communist, where Nostr seems very free market. I see value in both regarding how information is shared, but after living with web 2.0 social media so long, I enjoy an experience where content is just content for sake of expression, not content to produce results or create engagement.

Nostr seems like a wonderfully messy evolution and competitor to X, with a growing ecosystem by many passionate people. I'm glad it exists and enjoy how it's pushing new ideas. Yet there is still a part of me that has a greater rush in the exploration of a Gemini capsule, a personal web page, or a BBS forum or chat room, where every connection feels meaningful and every experience is unique. I would love to see ways that new technology could help foster such experiences of community and individual expression.