dataMachine

[New Post] Nostr is Identity for the Internet hivemind.vc/identity/ In today’s essay, I explore why the Internet needs user owned identity and an open, interoperable data layer. Imagine if you were able to move your identity and social graph seamlessly between Twitter, Instagram, Spotify, Craigslist, Reddit, Yelp, and any other site. Brand new experiences could emerge like a dating or recruiting app that recommends the perfect person for you based on mashing up previously siloed data from someone’s Twitter follows, Goodreads posts, and Spotify streams. User-owned identity would also solve the cold start problem that every new app faces, allowing indie devs to instantly on-board new users and creating the perfect conditions for a new long tail of custom and niche apps to thrive. I.e. rewilding the web :) How do we get there? Regulation is fraught with problems and seems a dead end. An open standard for identity and data would be ideal. Protocol > Platform. And I think the winning protocol has already emerged: Nostr. Why? - Nostr is ridiculously simple - Users own their identity - Nostr is extensible - Nostr has a committed critical mass of builders (and emerging Web of Trust) I think it’s a feature not a bug that this community is largely Bitcoiners who chose Nostr because of its similar ideological commitment to simplicity, user issued identity, and bazaar style development. Like @jack, I think the long tail of microapps that Nostr enables is its ultimate killer feature. But which will take off next? In my mind, Nostr will follow a straightforward trajectory - first solving discovery/reputation for Bitcoiners, then for early tech adopters, and finally for the mainstream. Here are some examples where I think Nostr based discovery & reputation will shine: - Global, social payments: ala @primal_app @MutinyWallet @getAlby & @makeprisms - Ecash mint discovery/selection ala @MutinyWallet & bitcoinmints.com - Marketplaces for DLC oracles (ala @lava_xyz) - Local Bitcoins replacements (ala @MostroP2P) - Open AI agent discovery (ala @OpenAgentsInc & cascdr.vercel.app) - Marketplaces for APIs (ala @pablof7z's DVMs & @tasktiger_io) - An open alternative to Github (ala gitworkshop.dev) - An open PWA app store (ala @Storedotapp & zap.store) - ValueRank search & discovery (ala @NostrBand @KagiHQ & @UnleashedChat ) - Open information creation and curation (ala highlighter.com & wikifreedia.xyz) -Marketplaces for files (ala Blossom from @stuartbowman_ & hzrd149) - Review and UGC content sites (ala @apollosats & Satlantis @SvetskiWrites) - P2P content delivery and payment (ala @fountain_app & @wavlake & @geyserfund) Of course the most exciting category of all is the unexpected wave of unimaginable apps that will eventually emerge. Ultimately, user owned identity and open data lead to online trust, which is a beautiful and deflationary force, capable of disrupting predatory marketplace middlemen and shifting the balance from financial to social capital. I.e. a more humane world. (h/t @stuartbowman_) If any of this sounds exciting to you, join us on Nostr and experience what I imagine it felt like in the early 90s on @TheWELL! primal.net/e/note195pzs7atum… Thanks to @ArturBrugeman @mbraticevic @dksf @bobscully & @MoritzKaminski for feedback on this essay.