As illustrated by Elon Musk’s alleged demands for engineers to improve engagement on his tweets, there is a persistent issue with the centralized power held by the companies behind giant social media platforms. Meanwhile, more decentralized alternatives to Twitter or Facebook, such as Mastodon and Nostr, are emerging and providing users with greater control over their posts and personal data. Recently, Nostr in particular has become popular among Bitcoin users and has drawn support from prominent individuals including Twitter co-founder and longtime CEO Jack Dorsey and NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.
But what are the odds Nostr will grow beyond its current, niche user base of devout Bitcoin supporters? Fortune reached out to Dorsey, pseudonymous Nostr creator Fiatjaf, and others to find out more about how the platform works, the issues associated with current social networks, and whether this can be more than a passing fad.
