I started using Nostr about a year and a half ago. NGL I struggled with it, I wanted it to be that Twitter replacement I was searching for but there were several roadblocks:
• getting content to load
• self-custodial Lightning is a pita
• little to no interaction
• getting a mix of content beyond just Bitcoin
Therefore, I found myself stuck choosing between battling an algorithm or a miserable UX for social media. But that changed when I saw this dude's posts about making a few simple adjustments and that was exactly the unlock I was looking for.
In the last 24-hours I went from totally frustrated with Nostr to operating my own public relay, running a local private relay on mobile, & getting content to load quickly on my 3 favorite clients - first bullet point ✅.
I continued following his suggestions and funded Zeus to manage some inbound/outbound channels which is made easy with their new LSP. With that setup, I installed Minibits to create a mint and get a Lightning address. I topped off the mint from Zeus, then I configured the NWC secrets for my 3 clients and removed the friction to zaps in a self-custodial way - second bullet point ✅.
But then I figured out being an introverted lurker on Nostr doesn't bode well here. I started following more accounts, boosting, posting, liking, commenting... The more I use it, the better it gets - third bullet point ✅.
Finally, YakiHonne was the key to curating the content I was seeing. There are options to choose a number of topics beyond just Bitcoin-related stories and I recommend checking it out - fourth bullet point ✅.
All in all, Twitter is a dumpster fire as you probably know since you're here reading this and if you have hit some friction switching to Nostr hopefully some of this info helps.
Here is how I would start from scratch to have the best private nostr device and experience. Time to level up npub!
Buy an unlocked pixel 7 or higher with cash
Flash with #Graphene OS
Download Tor browser
Download Obtainium
Add Orbot
Add Amber
Add Citrine
Add Amethyst
Add Minibits
Add Zeus
Add Oxchat
Add SimpleX
Add Robosats
Add NewPipe
Select all the apps to run through Orbot
Now set up your nostr profile
View quoted note →
Turn on Citrine and add it to the outbox relay settings in Amethyst. Add trusted relays as they see everything you do.
View article →
To add a zapping wallet open Minibits and get a free LN Address and add a mint. Now paste your LN address into Amethyst in your nostr profile.
Once you have 100k sats open a self custodial LN channel with Zeus Wallet using their LSP.
You now have an anonymous device, running over Tor, with a nostr signing device on the phone, nostr running thru orbot vpn, with a nostr relay on the phone, with a privacy preserving wallet with no personal info attatched.
For private encrypted DM log into Oxchat using Amber.
You can host your own onion nostr relay and a SimpleX server using a DIY Start9 home setup.
For purchasing No KYC sats use Robosats.
For watching and downloading videos use NewPipe.
Use Freedom Tech to stay private & sovereign!
View quoted note →
