GM. Waiting for $58k...

It is tax season again here in Spain. Every month I'm able to cut one more tie to the fiat world and it makes me breathe easier, but trying to play both sides of the financial system is stressful. Every three months, I'm searching down the back of the sofa for tax money I usually find just about enough. View article →

To celebrate 500 notes posted on Nostr, I have deleted the X app. GN

My personal Facebook page just got banned. No fucking idea why. I opened the account in 2006. 20 years of Meta sucking the value out of my content and data. If my 'appeal' is unsuccessful, they will just 'delete' everything. (Of course, they will keep all the data, but will deny access to me). The 'appeal' involved uploading a photo of myself. Surely anyone could do that with a quick google search. Anyway, if I lose access, I don't really care. Could be a good time to cut ties with that shit. 2026 is pointing me towards spending more time in the parallel spaces that can't revoke your access. Carry on, Nostr. Nothing to see here.

Chapter 16 — Becoming Totally Human I was kicking around some ideas about directions for my writing. My business had already touched on articles, courses, fiction, editing, coaching, newsletters, and guides. I settled on Bitcoin as a niche because it’s the only area I want to invest my energy in. It might sound harsh, but if you are a freelancer, and you aren’t writing in a niche that resonates deeply with you, why do it at all? The plus side of being a writer in Bitcoin is that there are very few creative professionals in the space with deep skillsets. I’m not saying that to put anyone down. It’s a small ecosystem compared to insurance, pet care, fashion, and other writing niches. Clients are forthright. They do what they say, and they don’t mess you around. It’s easy to meet them too — founders, industry leaders, investors, and top minds can all turn you onto projects that need words. All you need is a clear profile and the guts to meet them. Over the last two years, I’ve had dozens of calls and have been to quite a few conferences. Really, it’s the same as any other industry: success comes from clarity, consistency, reputation, and who you know. (For more on ‘how I built a bitcoin writing business’, read my Bitvocation article: https://blog.bitvocation.com/p/i-left-the-fiat-world-to-work-as). But in an industry that embraces AI with open arms, why call myself ‘Totally Human Writer’? Four reasons: 1. It shows my values. I believe in communication that is human centric. I’m a fiction writer. How could I not want to write for people? 2. It’s clear positioning. If you want someone to pump out social truisms, 3-step guides, and ‘top 10’ articles, that’s not me. Repelling the wrong clients is just as important as attracting the right ones. 3. It’s a mark of quality. I aim to work on high value projects, not $50 per keyword-stuffed blog content. 4. Purple monkey dishwasher (would an LLM write that???) Overall, I’m not against AI. That is not a position that’s tenable anymore. I use Lumo for quick research, lists of items, quotes, and to summarize books and podcasts. But using it to actually write just takes all the joy and meaning away. Contrary to what AI shillers say, meaningful writing is worth more than ever before. LLMs produce millions of words virtually for free. That’s why the internet is filled with shit content and no-one’s marketing is working any more. There is no magic formula for cutting through the sea of slop. As with anything, it’s about time, effort, and value. We’re in the period where entrepreneurs and founders are figuring out what they can and can’t automate. Certain types of writing tasks can be automated. But if you automate your vision, message, and reduce the time spent in your community, your authenticity trends to zero too. I recently read a podcaster’s book. I’m the perfect age to be in his target audience, so I was keen to see how he’d relate Bitcoin to my struggles. The book was written with AI (maybe 20-30% was the author’s work). It was awful. I felt no connection to his experience, his opinions. If he couldn’t put the work into writing it, why should I bother to read it? Machine content is always derivative, and derivative work is less valuable than original work. When ChatGPT started eating freelancers’ lunches (mostly due to short-sighted budgetary decisions), I thought long and hard about what AI can never do: * Invent novel analogies & frameworks * Understand biology & the mind * Generate niche humour * Vary voice effectively * Share experiences * Offer real opinions * Write with rhythm * Craft stories We read to learn things. However, we also read to connect with others. I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel a connection with billion-page internet libraries. Although technology advances at an exponential pace, human connection is one thing I think won’t change. Next time, I become a children’s author. *** Catch up on previous chapters via the articles on my profile.

Catch up on chapters 13-16 of my writing-life story. (just two more chapters to go!)

GM. Another hike to start my weekend. Arucas, Gran Canaria.

Some thoughts on @Jeff Booth's approach to socials. I saw one of his X posts yesterday. It had hundreds of likes amd reposts. But he didn't even write it. The tweet was a soundbite composed and published by his custom AI. It's designed to engage the 300k humans of X that follow him while he spends time on Nostr (where he wants to invest energy). Part of me thinks this is smart. It's a win-win. X gets retweetable soundbites true to Jeff's vision, and Nostr gets pure Booth energy! I can't help thinking that this only works for those who have already built a big position (300k followers) amd want to syphon the value into the new digital economy. It's like Saylor's strategy to transfer fiat's energy into bitcoin. This act also fortells how legacy socials will die. Bots will post, and eventually, only bots will read. But humans will always need a place to congregate, a place to spend their energy. We will do it in the places that offer real value, i.e. networks which aren't owned by tech billionaires and Mag7 corporations. Everyone on Nostr is moving to #nostronly, even if they don't know it yet.

My housemates wish you all a GM-filled day.

"Hey, mom. I've finally become a journalist! My topics? I write about bringing down Big Tech and building parallel systems outside the bounds of hideous government overreach... you proud?" View article →

GM On my way to a hike in Agaete. 21k steps here I come.

GM

What's the best book on Nostr? Explanation of the protocol NIPs Development of the eco system Potential uses etc. Looking to get up to speed, but please, for the love of God, don't send me to GitHub. I like to read prose, not code. Videos welcome too. #asknostr p.s. GM.

WHERE ARE ALL THE NOSTR AUTHORS? Konsensus Network is open to help leaders and coaches in the freedom space to get their proof of work out into the world. This is a fast, agile team who knows the bitcoin and self-sovereignty space well and can help you spread the word about your book. I'd love to see more titles about freedom maximalism, personal security, privacy, physical health and fitness, faith and spirituality. Let's get to work nostriches. Books build leading profiles. If you know a nostrich working on a book, tag them in the comments, or send me a DM. See @Niko 📚 Konsensus Network 's post below. *** "These authors came to us with 2 questions: 1. How do I get my book produced and out into the world? 2. How can I compete with the millions of other book releases? We launched our decentralized publishing system to ensure writers in the freedom space can share their ideas with minimal stress and maximum impact. It can take years to learn everything yourself – typesetting, cover design, book marketing. And if you hire specialist freelancers, you'll likely pay a high cost to self-publish. At Konsensus Network, we work with a pool of talented editors, typesetters, and designers who deliver high-quality work at reasonable rates. You keep ALL the rights and royalties! Like us, they care about personal sovereignty, privacy tech, and freedom. Our agile project management allows us to get your work from manuscript to storefront in around 3 months. Plus, our network of freedom-loving book buyers, media outlets, podcasts and socials allows us to spread the word about your book. Unlike many hybrid publishers, we have a vested interest in your success. If your book falls into the right category, we can solve these two headaches for you. You book could generate new income streams, partnerships, invitations to speak at events, or more opportunities in the freedom space. Got a project you want to talk about? Send me a DM. #sovereignty #privacy #bitcoin #selfpublishing

Just cancelled my subscription to Google One Drive. Proton migration complete. 👌 Next up, buy a Google phone, so I can escape using Google's operating system 😂

This store's name makes me absolutely furious! They have 200+ locations in Spain and I see them EVERYWHERE. (I also live near a motorcycle accessories shop called Helmet's World 🤣)

CHAPTER 14 - The Orange Pill Five years ago, I knew nothing about finance. I couldn’t even answer the question ‘What is money?’ Then, one of my clients asked me a different question: “Do you know what causes inflation?” @Niko 📚 Konsensus Network was one of my first coaching clients. I was targeting publishers who wanted to improve the quality of their English writing, and he runs an independent press for Bitcoin and self-sovereignty books. In the Bitcoin community, we talk about the concept of ‘orange pilling’ — helping others to understand the benefits of Bitcoin and escape the Matrix of our financial system. In reality, it’s not as easy as taking a pill; the necessary knowledge requires a long process of learning about economics, history, fiscal policy, computer science, game theory, money, energy, maths, and other topics. There is often one ‘unlock’ moment (for me, it was suffering through 20% Covid inflation and finally taking action to combat it). After that, the real learning starts. Niko guided me towards many books on the topic, and I began to ask questions about why our financial system is rigged against us. Bitcoiners favour open-sourcing everything and are against gating ‘intellectual property’. The fact that Niko would provide all his eBooks to me for free made me question my approach to publishing (and the whole industry itself). Perhaps I’ll reflect on this in a later issue. A few months after we finished our coaching sessions, I hit upon an idea. I’d just been ghosted by a publisher who had initially shown interest in an anthology idea of mine (a book of nomad stories). Instead of giving up on the idea of editing a book of stories, I suggested the concept of Bitcoin fiction to Niko. He is a big sci-fi fan and saw the value in ‘orange pilling’ people via stories (almost all Bitcoin books at the time were non-fiction theses). In late 2022, @21 Futures was born. I only wrote one of the stories in ‘21 Futures: Tales from the Timechain’, but bringing an anthology to market requires a LOT of time and input from the editor. I defined the concept, advertised the call for submissions, communicated with all the authors, drew up terms and contracts, selected and edited the stories, worked with the Konsensus Network (the publisher) on the book design, cover, and images, created a marketing plan, set up socials, then a website, blog submissions guidelines, merchandise, and more. I travelled to a conference in Madeira to promote the book and meet the publishing team (including Niko). While the book has not sold thousands of copies, it’s an important proof of work that furthered the concept of stories and fiction in the Bitcoin ecosystem. 21 Futures has become a bigger project, with podcasts, merchandise, a second book, and an animation in development. All of this became a flywheel of momentum for my involvement in the Bitcoin space, generating more opportunities, leading me down countless rabbit holes, and allowing me to make plenty of friends along the way. Those sessions with Niko changed my life, and I’ll be forever grateful to him for his patience, guidance, and support (even though he was the one paying me, LOL). I used to wonder what it took to become an editor, a publisher. For years, I had corrected and edited my students’ work, as well as my own. Essentially, you take the leap and learn as you go (taking courses, reading books, listening to authors). I’ve since edited several books in the space. There is another saying in Bitcoin that rings true for me: “You can just do things.” *** Catch up on previous issues of Unphiltered - the first 20 years of my writing life on Substack and Nostr reads.

UnPhiltered | Philip Charter | Substack

A retrospective of the first 20 years of my writing life. Click to read UnPhiltered, by Philip Charter, a Substack publication with hundreds of sub...

GM! Did you know, from 1993 to 2010, there was a daily morning show in the UK called GMTV? What kinds of things would you expect from a daily Nostr-ized GMTV in 2026? #nostr #tv #GM

GM. The great wall of cat is complete! 👷‍♂️🚧🔧🔨🏡 #DIY #cats #catsr

GM nostr, ☕️⛴️🌞🌴 On the ferry to Tenerife this morning. #coffeechain