Oddbean

Last week in Riga was a game-changer. The Nostr conference wasn’t just another event—it was a powerful gathering of people who share a deep commitment to decentralisation, freedom, and the future of open communication. The energy was electrifying, and the community was nothing short of inspiring. I left not just excited but deeply convinced that Nostr is a protocol that can genuinely make a difference. I want to share a story that brought this into focus for me. The other night, I had a conversation with a woman who seemed completely out of touch with the current challenges many of us face. She casually mentioned that Bitcoin and all the discussions about "Freedom of Money" don't concern her—she doesn't care what's happening in the world. Her solution to the rising cost of living? "Just get a better-paying job." Her perspective came from a place of dissociation - she's wealthy, content and can afford what she wants, so is unaware of the plight others face. But I couldn’t disagree more. I used to think I was in a similar position—earning good money, enjoying freedom, and living comfortably. But then the pandemic hit, and everything changed. My parents, who are both doctors, chose to question the system and the reasoning behind mandatory vaccinations. We didn’t want to be vaccinated, and we didn’t want to follow blindly. This decision turned our lives upside down. Germany, a country I had always taken pride in for its innovation, structure, and respect for human rights, suddenly felt alien. Where were the laws, the constitutional rights that I believed in? The German Basic Law states, *“Human dignity is inviolable. Respecting and protecting it is the duty of all state authority.”* Yet it felt like these principles were discarded overnight. My parents, who refused to compromise their principles, ended up before the European Court of Justice for standing up for their right to practice medicine ethically. It was a harsh reminder of how quickly our freedoms can be threatened. Despite being doctors, they were offered no protection. I am incredibly proud of my parents for their courage. They sacrificed so much to ensure my sister and I have a future where we can speak our minds and live by our values. Now, I feel a deep responsibility to continue their fight. This is why Nostr resonates so strongly with me. It’s not just about freedom of speech—it’s about creating something where everyone can express their opinions without fear of being silenced. If we had had a community like Nostr in 2020, we might have navigated those difficult times more easily. While we can’t change the past, I am filled with hope and determination for the future. ### Getting it out there Riga reinforced my belief in Nostr’s potential. The Nostr protocol isn’t just about technology—it’s about community. It’s open to everyone, free to join, and independent of governments and politicians, and not infected by the corporate media. This is the kind of freedom-enabling technologies more people need. Also, Nostr isn’t just a place for serious discussions and activism—it’s actually a fun place to be. We laugh, we create, we tell jokes, post memes, and we explore new possibilities. It gives us so many more options to connect, share, and just enjoy being part of a vibrant community. However, there's a problem: Nostr remains largely underutilised, particularly in the circles where it could have the most impact, such as the Bitcoin community. I realized this last week while attending the Baltic Honey Badger conferences after Nostriga. Although I’d guess that around 80% of Nostr users are Bitcoiners, only about a fraction of Bitcoiners are Nostr users. In fact, even though Nostriga and BHB were back to back, only about a third of the people at BHB were on Nostr. There’s a significant gap in usage and awareness, and I think this is an area we can focus on. So…How can we close the gap between the crowd that already knows about it, but is not yet using it? Well, here is one suggestion: What if every Bitcoin conference had a dedicated Nostr booth? Somewhere that showcased Nostr, and all the apps being built on there, and even had some dedicated staff on hand to help explain it to people and onboard them? We basically did this at BTCPrague earlier in the year, and it was a huge success. I’m pretty sure it was the most visited booth of the entire conference. I think we can replicate this success and develop a kind of recipe to do this at more and more bitcoin conferences. In fact, I’m already working on something. I’ve spoken with the organizers at LaBitConf (Buenos Aires), SatsConf (Sao Paulo) and Adopting Bitcoin (Salvador) to have an official Nostr booth at all three events. The next step is to raise some money for this - hopefully from Nostr companies, and some other donors - and get community support for the initiative. I’m hoping this “LatAm tour” could really establish this as a “thing” and that all future Bitcoin-conferences will either reach out to do the same thing, or just copy and do it themselves! Ultimately, if we do this right, we can develop a model to take a Nostr booth to conferences OUTSIDE of the Bitcoin space - because that’s really what counts for long term growth. We need to move beyond our bubble, BUT…we also need to start somewhere. The benefit of starting with Bitcoin conferences is that it’s easy to get a foot in, we can do it cheaply, and it gets us some runs on the board. In other words, we can practice and prepare before we go to do it in a bigger way. So anyway. That’s ONE idea..There’s obviously many others, and I think promoting Nostr requires a multi-pronged approach. The “IRL approach” is necessary in my opinion, because it builds instant trust. It’s community oriented. People can touch and feel it. This is in fact how many of the big social networks got their early start - so there’s got to be something here for us to do. I’m going to keep writing about this in the coming weeks as I put together the plans. If the LatAm tour proves successful, the next step will be to take the Nostr booth on a world tour in 2025. With over 50 Bitcoin conferences next year, there are at least 10 that we should prioritize, including Bitcoin 2025 in Vegas, Bit Block Boom, and another round of BTC Prague. Ultimately, my vision is for the Nostr traveling Booth to become a self-sustaining initiative managed by the community. Tanja