Derek Ross on Nostr: #HOWDONOSTR - How do I use Nostr? Nostr is much, much more than a Twitter ...

#HOWDONOSTR - How do I use Nostr?

Nostr is much, much more than a Twitter alternative. Nostr allows us to have portal digital social identities that we can use in various applications and capacities. For this next iteration of #HOWDONOSTR I'll focus on a few of the applications that I use and the various ways that I use Nostr.

Since we know that Nostr uses a public and private key pair and keeping our private key safe is of utmost importance, we'll start this off with the basics and then move on to relays, before discussing applications.

* On my desktop, to login to and utilize the various applications, I'll use the Alby web browser extension to manage my private key. This works with Chrome, Brave, Firefox, etc. You can install it here: https://getalby.com
* On my Android phone, I'll use the Amber application to keep my private key safe when using native applications that support it. You can download Amber here: https://github.com/greenart7c3/Amber
* I'll also use the Kiwi web browser for accessing many web applications. With the Kiwi browser, I'll use the Nostr Connect extension because it's more lightweight than Alby. You can download Kiwi Browser for Android here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kiwibrowser.browser
You can install the extension here: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/nostr-connect/ampjiinddmggbhpebhaegmjkbbeofoaj

Nostr allows us to be in-charge of our digital social identity and allows us to be in-charge of our entire social graph. We can accomplish this by running our own relay. I do this in two parts.

* I run a private local relay on my Android phone. This allows me to easily write offline notes and save all of my drafts to my phone where they are not accessible by anyone but myself. I do this with the Citrine application. You can download it here: https://github.com/greenart7c3/Citrine
* I also run a publicly accessible relay that only my wife and myself and have write access. That means that no one else can save their social information to my relay, but everyone in the world can access my relay to read our notes and events. I use the Nostream relay for this. You can get started with Nostream here: https://github.com/cameri/nostream

Do I need to run two relays? Maybe not, but I do, because I can. Nostr allows me to easily do these more technical things if I want to do them, allowing me to be fully in control of my entire social graph and social identity.

Now that I have my private key being secured and managed and my notes and events are stored on my personal relays, I'm ready to start using various Nostr applications!

My number one daily driver is Amethyst for Android. It allows me to login via Amber to keep my private key safe. It allows me to easily use my private relay that runs on my smartphone. I use Amethyst because of the number of features that it supports, integrating with many other Nostr clients and various aspects of the protocol. From AI generated feeds of notes, to a bitcoin powered marketplace, to live streams and more. However, Amethyst does suffer from some stability issues and causes me headaches from time to time. Because of this, I also use Primal. Primal is smooth and stable. It lacks some of the extras that Amethyst has, but if I want an experience that just works, I choose Primal.

Nostr really shines on the web. Most of Nostr's Other Stuff clients are not native applications for Android and iOS, they're web applications - regular websites powered by Nostr. Remember, to securely use these applications, you'll need one of the web browsers and extensions that I mentioned above. Alternatively, you can also use many of these with nsec.app. This website runs a Nostr nsecBunker in your web browser, allowing this application to function as a secure key management application.

* Snort.social or Iris.to are popular clients, but not performing for me as well as they used to, so now I'm using Primal.net and Coracle.social more and more. Primal is very stable and simple, but Coracle is loaded with features that keep bringing me back. Coracle's new custom feeds feature is a game changer, however the UI is a bit much and may seem overly complicated.
* For audio chats, I listen to NostrNests.com where people chat with friends and Plebchain Radio hosts their weekly podcast. I used to do weekly shows here every Monday, but it's been a while for me.
* Zap.stream is a Twitch or YouTube alternative for video consumption. Here, I watch friends and streamers here, interacting with them live, chatting, zapping, and consuming all that they have to offer. Sometimes it's weekly podcast shows, sometimes it's gamers playing video games, or sometimes it's just developers hacking away at code during a live coding session.
* I use Highlighter.com for reading long form notes or blog posts, but I also use Highlighter for sometimes writing my own. Content creators can also use Highlighter to create subscription tiers, similar to Patreon. I don't use that feature, but it's nice to have for those looking to fund their content in other ways similar to what exists elsewhere on the web.
* I use listr.lol to manage my Nostr lists, to help me organize npubs that I follow.
* I use metadata.nostr.com to restore my Nostr profile, including my contact list, if a rogue client accidentally deletes or alters my contact list in a way that I didn't intend. This does happen from time to time. We're early.
* I use w3.do to create Nostr powered shortlinks for sharing with others.
* I use Wavlake to listen to music, supporting artists in a value for value manner. I use this application on the web and I use this application on my Android phone too.
* I use Shopstr.store to sell items, such as old Android phones. I've sold 3 via this Nostr powered marketplace.
* Tunestr.io is a website similar to Zap.stream, but it's specifically for live musical performances.
* I use Zap.store to manage applications on my Android phone as an alternative to Google Play or Obtainium.

I use these applications the most, but many more applications exist across the Nostr ecosystem. I encourage you to check out https://www.nostrapps.com from time to time and see what's available.