Finding Your Community on Nostr

Hashtag Strategy (2 minutes)

Why Hashtags Matter

Hashtags are the primary way to discover content and people on Nostr:

Benefits:

• Find people with shared interests
• Join ongoing conversations
• Get discovered by others
• Build topical authority

Popular Nostr Hashtags

General:

• #introductions - Say hello
• #asknostr - Ask questions
• #nostr - General Nostr discussion

Technology:

• #bitcoin - Bitcoin discussion
• #lightning - Lightning Network
• #privacy - Privacy tools
• #opensource - Open source software

Lifestyle:

• #photography - Photos
• #music - Music sharing
• #art - Visual art
• #writing - Long-form content
• #foodstr - Food and cooking
• #coffeechain - Coffee culture
• #memes - Memes and humor

Community & Culture:

• #grownostr - Gardening and growing
• #plebchain - Bitcoin plebs community

Regional:

• #africa, #asia, #europe, #americas
• City-specific tags
• Language tags

Using Hashtags Effectively

Do:

• Use 2-5 relevant hashtags per post
• Check trending tags in your client
• Follow hashtags you’re interested in
• Create your own for events/series

Don’t:

• Spam with 10+ hashtags
• Use irrelevant tags
• Tag every single post
• Create duplicate/similar tags

Discovering New Hashtags

1. Check what others use - See what hashtags popular accounts in your niche use
2. Search and explore - Try searching different topics
3. Ask the community - “What hashtags should I follow for [topic]?”

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Exploring Relay Feeds (2 minutes)

Why Browse by Relay?

Hashtags connect you to topics across all of Nostr. But what if you want to discover entire communities organized around specific relays?

Think of relays as different newspapers:

• Your current feed: People you follow (mixed relays)
• Relay feed: Everyone posting to that specific relay

Each relay develops its own personality and community:

• Bitcoin-focused relays discuss ₿ topics
• Art relays showcase creative work
• Regional relays connect local communities
• Tech relays focus on development

Getting Started

How to use it:

1. Pick a category - Bitcoin, Art, Music, Tech, Development, Gaming, or Regional
2. Browse like a newspaper - See what’s happening on each relay
3. Preview before joining - Check the relay’s content and community
4. Add to your client - Follow instructions to add interesting relays

Recommended First Relay

Spatia Arcana - Community-curated topical relay

• URL: wss://spatia-arcana.com
• Start here for a taste of relay-based discovery
• It only accepts posts from a set list of writers, so treat it as somewhere to read rather than somewhere to publish

Which Clients Support This?

Best for relay browsing:

• Jumble (Web) - Built specifically for relay exploration
• Gossip (Desktop) - Desktop app that can show you any single relay’s feed
• Coracle (Web) - Advanced relay management
• Snort (Web) - Feature-rich

Primal is a fine everyday client, but it is not on this list for a reason. Primal apps read from Primal’s own caching server, which gathers events from many relays and serves them back as one stream, so there is no “show me what is on this relay” view to open.

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Following the Right People (3 minutes)

Quality Over Quantity

Better to follow 50 great accounts than 5,000 random ones.

What to Look For

Good follows:

• Post consistently (not too much, not too little)
• Share valuable content
• Engage with community
• Have been around a while
• Match your interests

Red flags:

• Only self-promotion
• Spam or low-quality posts
• Never engage with others
• Brand new accounts (no history)
• Suspicious behavior

Finding Your First Follows

Method 1: Follow Packs Recommended

The easiest way to fill your feed with quality accounts:

Method 2: Client Starter Packs

• Many clients offer “suggested users”
• Topic-based starter lists
• “Who to follow” recommendations

Method 3: Search Hashtags

1. Search #bitcoin (or your interest)
2. See who posts quality content
3. Check their recent posts
4. Follow if you like their vibe

Method 4: Follow the Followers

1. Find one person you like
2. See who they follow
3. Check those accounts
4. Follow interesting ones

Method 5: Community Directories

• Community-curated directories
• GitHub lists of Nostr users

The 50-100 Rule

Aim for 50-100 active follows to start:

• Enough for a lively feed
• Not overwhelming
• Quality over quantity
• Can always add more

Curating Over Time

Weekly review:

• Unfollow accounts that don’t add value
• Add new discoveries
• Balance different interests
• Remove inactive accounts

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Community Directories (2 minutes)

Start With a Follow Pack

The fastest route is still the curated follow packs on this site. Pick the topic that sounds like you, skim the accounts, and take the ones you like. No account needed to look.

Nostr Explorers

An explorer is a website that reads Nostr and shows it to you without asking you to log in. Handy when you want to check somebody out before following them, or when a friend sends you a link and you just want to read it.

Two that work today:

• primal.net - search for a topic or a name and read the results in your browser
• njump.me - paste any Nostr link (an npub, a note1..., a nevent1...) and it opens as a normal web page

Search a topic you care about, look at who keeps showing up, open a few profiles and read their last dozen posts. If the voice fits, follow. That is the whole method.

Client-Specific Discovery

Most clients also have their own “suggested users”, trending posts, or topic lists built in. They are worth a look, though the suggestions tend to repeat the same well-known accounts, so treat them as a starting point rather than the map.

Creating Your Own List

If you’re well-connected:

1. Create a post with recommended follows
2. Use #starterpack or similar tag
3. Help newcomers find good people
4. Build community reputation

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Long-Form Content (2 minutes)

Beyond Short Posts

Nostr isn’t just Twitter-style microblogging. There’s a rich ecosystem of long-form content:

Types of Long-Form:

• Blog posts
• Essays
• Threads (connected posts)
• Newsletters
• Technical articles

Finding Long-Form Writers

Two clients are built around articles rather than short posts, so they are the easiest places to find writers.

Highlighter (highlighter.com)

• Web app for reading and publishing long pieces
• You can highlight passages, and your highlights become something others can find and zap
• Supports paid subscriptions, so writers can charge readers directly

YakiHonne (yakihonne.com)

• Long-form articles and media, with a portal for creators publishing their own work
• Web app plus native iOS and Android apps, and a desktop build
• Zaps and relay settings built in

Following Writers

What to look for:

• Consistent publishing
• Quality over quantity
• Engagement with readers
• Unique perspectives
• Good signal-to-noise ratio

Benefits:

• Deeper content
• Better discussions
• Learn new things
• Build relationships

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Events & Coordination (2 minutes)

Finding Events on Nostr

Types of Events:

• Meetups (local Nostr gatherings)
• Conferences (Bitcoin, privacy, tech)
• Live audio rooms, the Nostr answer to X/Twitter Spaces
• Hackathons
• AMAs (Ask Me Anything)

Event Coordination

Hashtags to watch:

• #meetup, #event, #conference
• #AMA, #spaces, #live
• City-specific (#nyc, #london, #tokyo)

RSVP on Nostr:

• Some clients support event RSVPs
• Follow event organizers
• Watch for announcements

Creating Events

To host:

1. Create a post with details
2. Use #event hashtag
3. Tag relevant people
4. Post updates regularly
5. Share photos after

Virtual Events

Live audio rooms (like X/Twitter Spaces):

• Nostr Nests (nostrnests.com) - drop-in audio rooms running on Nostr, for chatting, jamming or small conferences
• Some clients are adding audio of their own
• Fountain (fountain.fm) is a podcast and music app rather than a rooms host, worth knowing if you publish audio
• Scheduled text AMAs still work perfectly well and need no extra app

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DM Etiquette (2 minutes)

Safety First

Nostr DMs are encrypted, so relays cannot read what you wrote. What leaks around the message depends on which method your client uses.

• Older DMs (NIP-04) hide the text but not the participants. A relay can see that you and one particular person are talking, and how often.
• Newer DMs (NIP-17) hide the sender: each message is wrapped and signed by a throwaway key. The recipient is still visible in plain text, because the relay needs to know where to deliver it, and so is the timing.
• Clients differ. Two people on different apps may not even be using the same method, and messages sometimes fail to appear across that gap.

Either way, the content is private and the fact that somebody is receiving messages is not. For the full picture, read Private messages with NIP-17.

DM Best Practices

Do:

• Be respectful
• Introduce yourself
• Keep it relevant
• Respect boundaries
• Remember the message body is private, the surrounding metadata is not

Don’t:

• Spam or harass
• Send unsolicited messages
• Share private keys (EVER)
• Assume complete privacy
• Send sensitive info

Handling Unwanted DMs

If someone bothers you:

1. Mute or block - Both do the same thing on Nostr: your app stops showing you that person. It is a filter on your side, not a wall on theirs.
2. Know what it does not do - There is no protocol-level block. The person is not told, and can still read your public posts, reply to them and mention you. Other people still see those replies; you just stop seeing them.
3. Report - If it is serious, report them in your client and tell people you trust. Moderation on Nostr happens through relays and shared block lists, so a paid or moderated relay is the closest thing to real enforcement.
4. Don’t engage - Feeds trolls

Prevention:

• Don’t post your DMs are open if you don’t mean it
• Be selective about who you respond to
• Trust your instincts

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Building Your Network (3 minutes)

Engagement Strategy

The 80/20 Rule:

• 80% adding value (posts, replies, zaps)
• 20% self-promotion

Ways to Add Value:

• Thoughtful replies
• Sharing insights
• Answering questions
• Curating content
• Encouraging others

Consistency Matters

Post regularly:

• Daily is great
• Few times a week is good
• Weekly minimum
• Quality over quantity

Best times to post:

• Varies by your audience
• Experiment and see
• Generally: morning/evening
• Avoid middle of night (unless that’s your timezone)

Building Relationships

One-on-one:

• Reply to their posts
• Zap their content
• Send thoughtful DMs
• Remember details
• Be genuine

Community:

• Participate in conversations
• Help newcomers
• Share opportunities
• Celebrate others’ wins

Patience

It takes time:

• First 100 followers are hardest
• Momentum builds slowly
• Quality relationships > quantity
• Be in it for the long term

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Quick Reference

Discovery Methods:

• Hashtags (#topic)
• Follow the followers
• Community directories
• Starter packs

Engagement Tips:

• Reply thoughtfully
• Zap generously
• Be consistent
• Add value first

Safety:

• Trust your instincts
• Block/mute freely
• Don’t share sensitive info
• Remember metadata leaks

Remember: Your community is out there. Be patient, be authentic, be helpful.

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Test Your Community Knowledge

Ready to see if you’re ready to find your tribe on Nostr?

Community Discovery Quiz

Sharing Identity

Question 1 of 6

0/6 answered

How do you share your Nostr profile with someone?

Give them your email address

Share your npub (public key)

They need to search your real name