**Nostr: The sovereignty protocol of social networking**
The move from the physical to the virtual in our lives has brought with it the inherent human tendencies of control and despotism. And like the controls imposed over people in various forms, past and present, we now have corporate godlike entities trying to exercise control over the virtual domain as well. The subjective omnipotence of God is still a valid philosophical topic. Corporations, however, are made of people, and therefore their control over us and our reality is tangible, optional, mutable, and should be challenged with checks and balances. On the other hand, we can still argue over a subjective divinity controlling reality, and the argument exists simply because divinity is not within our physical reach.
Let’s put metaphysics away. Unlike the ethereal oversight of the divine, we do possess the objective knowledge of who presides over the digital realm. Therefore, the digital space need not be ruled by divine-like corporate figures capable of disappearing users. The Nostr protocol solves the problem of your individual sovereignty in the virtual sphere of messaging. Let’s look at the problems of centralization and how Nostr resolves them.
The problem of centralized social media
Social media giants collect their user’s data and comments into their servers, where they wield power and control. These companies have the power to do data tampering, censorship, and coercion, shadow banning, content prioritization or devaluation. They can take over and block accounts upon government pressure and outright deny services. Since they store all accounts and user data into the company’s centralized servers and they can to do as they please, like a god or dungeon master.
Violations against freedoms have been committed to varying degrees throughout the brief history of social media. Some famous recent examples include withholding information relating to the 2020 election in the United States to sway the votes in a preferred direction, and banning opinions questioning government practices, whether it be about medical advice or climate change. Judging by recent technological progress, like CBDC currencies with smart contracts and social credit score implementations, we can safely say censorship is just getting started, and that the future of censorship and control in social networking looks like it will go mad with power if left unchecked.
These and other recent events, along with recent technological advancements, have shown that the further we go, especially in the virtual world, the more opportunities there are for centralizing powers like governments or corporations to attack personal liberties and freedoms. Here are some problems that centralization creates:
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Can we prove the person made that comment when the data was in the hands of another?
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Evidence tampering
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Banning and shadowbanning based on expressed opinions
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Election manipulation through prioritizing some posts and not prioritizing others
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Corporate dictatorship and surveillance over user data and accounts
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The suppression or elimination of the right to free speech
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Losing personal sovereignty in the digital realm
How do I remain sovereign online?
The point here is to show how the inherent despotic power tendencies have seeped through into the digital realm and to identify the Nostr solution to them. Here are some problems that the Nostr protocol addresses:
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How do I keep my individuality online?
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How do I become an individual online?
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How do I own my words online?
What is Nostr? briefly
The answer to free online speech is the Nostr protocol. It is censorship resistant messaging. Nostr itself is just a protocol, not the software, which anyone can develop separately, Damus, is an example of a Nostr messaging client. Two beautiful and simple elements that make Nostr resistant to censorship:
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The user gets a private key that is their server identity.
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Messages are relayed through multiple relays and not stored in a single centralized server
This means that:
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The private key, like in Bitcoin, belongs only to the user and is not stored on a centralized server owned by a centralizing corporation.
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Since Nostr has no centralized servers, there is no database storing private keys or messages. The messages are therefore spread across multiple relays. Nobody can silence a user for their statements and opinions.
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The consequence of these features is that for the first time, by owning your words and your private key, you’ve become a free individual online.
Nostr is virtual sovereignty
The beauty of Nostr is in its simplicity. Through the ingenious combination of private key/public key identity and decentralized message relaying, Nostr establishes a person’s freedom of expression online. Now you can’t get banned, restricted, or denied access based on the whims of corporate entities bowing to political forces.
The only way to battle misinformation is to allow all information free flow, since one can be wrong with good intentions. All opinions need to be voiced in order to verify their correctness. Therefore, through free, uncensored online speech, Nostr is continuing the dialogue vital for the progress of humanity.
For some more in-depth info about Nostr, check out these helpful links:
Robert Breedlove podcast with Damus creator Will Casarin
How to earn bitcoin and join the creator economy with Nostr - Forbes article