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@ daa41bed:88f54153
2025-02-09 16:50:04
There has been a good bit of discussion on Nostr over the past few days about the merits of zaps as a method of engaging with notes, so after writing a rather lengthy [article on the pros of a strategic Bitcoin reserve](https://geek.npub.pro/post/dxqkgnjplttkvetprg8ox/), I wanted to take some time to chime in on the much more fun topic of digital engagement.
Let's begin by defining a couple of things:
**Nostr** is a decentralized, censorship-resistance protocol whose current biggest use case is social media (think Twitter/X). Instead of relying on company servers, it relies on relays that anyone can spin up and own their own content. Its use cases are much bigger, though, and this article is hosted on my own relay, using my own Nostr relay as an example.
**Zap** is a tip or donation denominated in sats (small units of Bitcoin) sent from one user to another. This is generally done directly over the Lightning Network but is increasingly using Cashu tokens. For the sake of this discussion, how you transmit/receive zaps will be irrelevant, so don't worry if you don't know what [Lightning](https://lightning.network/) or [Cashu](https://cashu.space/) are.
If we look at how users engage with posts and follows/followers on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, etc., it becomes evident that traditional social media thrives on engagement farming. The more outrageous a post, the more likely it will get a reaction. We see a version of this on more visual social platforms like YouTube and TikTok that use carefully crafted thumbnail images to grab the user's attention to click the video. If you'd like to dive deep into the psychology and science behind social media engagement, let me know, and I'd be happy to follow up with another article.
In this user engagement model, a user is given the option to comment or like the original post, or share it among their followers to increase its signal. They receive no value from engaging with the content aside from the dopamine hit of the original experience or having their comment liked back by whatever influencer they provide value to. Ad revenue flows to the content creator. Clout flows to the content creator. Sales revenue from merch and content placement flows to the content creator. We call this a linear economy -- the idea that resources get created, used up, then thrown away. Users create content and farm as much engagement as possible, then the content is forgotten within a few hours as they move on to the next piece of content to be farmed.
What if there were a simple way to give value back to those who engage with your content? By implementing some value-for-value model -- a circular economy. Enter zaps.
Unlike traditional social media platforms, Nostr does not actively use algorithms to determine what content is popular, nor does it push content created for active user engagement to the top of a user's timeline. Yes, there are "trending" and "most zapped" timelines that users can choose to use as their default, but these use relatively straightforward engagement metrics to rank posts for these timelines.
That is not to say that we may not see clients actively seeking to refine timeline algorithms for specific metrics. Still, the beauty of having an open protocol with media that is controlled solely by its users is that users who begin to see their timeline gamed towards specific algorithms can choose to move to another client, and for those who are more tech-savvy, they can opt to run their own relays or create their own clients with personalized algorithms and web of trust scoring systems.
Zaps enable the means to create a new type of social media economy in which creators can earn for creating content and users can earn by actively engaging with it. Like and reposting content is relatively frictionless and costs nothing but a simple button tap. Zaps provide active engagement because they signal to your followers and those of the content creator that this post has genuine value, quite literally in the form of money—sats.
I have seen some comments on Nostr claiming that removing likes and reactions is for wealthy people who can afford to send zaps and that the majority of people in the US and around the world do not have the time or money to zap because they have better things to spend their money like feeding their families and paying their bills. While at face value, these may seem like valid arguments, they, unfortunately, represent the brainwashed, defeatist attitude that our current economic (and, by extension, social media) systems aim to instill in all of us to continue extracting value from our lives.
Imagine now, if those people dedicating their own time (time = money) to mine pity points on social media would instead spend that time with genuine value creation by posting content that is meaningful to cultural discussions. Imagine if, instead of complaining that their posts get no zaps and going on a tirade about how much of a victim they are, they would empower themselves to take control of their content and give value back to the world; where would that leave us? How much value could be created on a nascent platform such as Nostr, and how quickly could it overtake other platforms?
Other users argue about user experience and that additional friction (i.e., zaps) leads to lower engagement, as proven by decades of studies on user interaction. While the added friction may turn some users away, does that necessarily provide less value? I argue quite the opposite. You haven't made a few sats from zaps with your content? Can't afford to send some sats to a wallet for zapping? How about using the most excellent available resource and spending 10 seconds of your time to leave a comment? Likes and reactions are valueless transactions. Social media's real value derives from providing monetary compensation and actively engaging in a conversation with posts you find interesting or thought-provoking. Remember when humans thrived on conversation and discussion for entertainment instead of simply being an onlooker of someone else's life?
If you've made it this far, my only request is this: try only zapping and commenting as a method of engagement for two weeks. Sure, you may end up liking a post here and there, but be more mindful of how you interact with the world and break yourself from blind instinct. You'll thank me later.
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@ df478568:2a951e67
2025-02-07 22:34:11
Freedom tech is free and open-source software. It is free as in freedom. A common license in FOSS is the MIT license. It's the license behind Bitcoin, a peer-to-peer electronic cash system. Anyone is free to run this software. The same is true for the software at mempool.space. The software is free to use. I run it on my own server.
This is what I use to time-stamp my articles. You can use it to check transactions on the bitcoin time chain, but you need to trust that I'm not doing any funny business. I'm not, but keep in mind, the whole point of p2p elwctronic cash is that you don't trust. You verify.
The beauty of FOSS is: You don't need to trust me. You can triple-check the transactions you search on my mempool instance by looking at the official mempool.space website and blockchain.info...Or...You can run your own node on your own hardware, free of charge.
Of course, the hardware is not free. Neither is the actual bitcoin. The freedom is built into the software, but as the saying goes, "freedom isn't free." It took me years to learn how to run my own software on my own server and make it available on the clear net.
## SearXNG
[SearXNG](https://github.com/searxng/searxng) is my favorite search engine. I don't like giving up my precious data to big tech located in the United States or China. I run my own search engine. I have noticed certain biases in Google searches. The biggest problem is ads.
Companies tend to pay for Yelp and Google reviews. I called an AC company I found from a local magazine that came in the mail. A portly man wearing an HVAC costume drove to my house in a white van. He had a great smile and even better social skills. The van had a slogan plastered on it like most tradie vans do. "Reviews Matter We have a 4.9 Review on Google." He also had his name painted on this van like a Bomber pilot from WW2. I won't dox him, but it was something like "Joe the closer."
I don't trust the omnipotenence of the Googs. I also don't trust fat men they call "the closer" to give me the best deal. The trick to saving sats is to choose the game-theory optimal way of negogiation.
In DUCY, by David Sklansky, I learned useful negotiation skills. Sklansky wrote classic poker books and applied his actuarial math brain to negotiation techniques. He said he would go to a Toyota dealer and say, "I'm shopping for a new Camry. I already have a price from dealership XYZ in a nearby city. What is your price?"
This changes the dynamic right from the starting line and gives the consumer the advantage. So I tried this based technique with the HVAC industrial complex. I got a quote from 3 people:
1. Joe "The Closer."
2. The Costco-sponsored HVAC Company
3. My SearXNG search results.
In essence, I apply the same logic I learned running a full bitcoin node. Remember how I said the decentralized nature of bitcoin allows you to **triple-check your transactions?** Running SearXNG allows me to triple check my search results in a similar fashion. I don't trust Google, Costco, or the magazine I get every month in the mail. I verify results with my own search engine.
My SearXNG does not track my location, but I set it to give me local results. To be honest, I have not verified this, but the code is on GitHub for everyone to see.
I don't want to be "sold" on an AC. I don't want an AC if I could avoid it, but my AC was as dead as dentacoin. Living in Southern California with a wife going through "the change" gave me no alternative.
The guy I found on SearXNG showed up in an unmarked van. He had a beard. He was not "a closer." He was an actual HVAC technician. He tried cleaning my unit made in the same year Weezer released their Blue album. He said he coukd jerry rig it to get it working for another few months, but the machine is on it's last days. He said a newer unit would also be more efficient so I asked him about the energy like a bitcoiner.
"How many kilowatt hours does it cost me to run my AC versus a new AC?"
I don't remember the exact answer, but I asked all three companies. He was the only one that new how to find out. He also happened to be the cheapest, but I would have bought a new AC from this guy even if he wasn't.
I told him I made a space heater out of a bitcoin miner. He had no idea this was possible, but he at least pretended to find it interesting. That's why I use SearXNG to find tradesmen. It's better than Yelp.
If you would like to try my instance of SearXNG, check it out.
`523FeCpi9Gx4nR9NmSFIMEaYcI5Q4WmhYHPEPaEah84=`
To decrypt it, use the key behind the paywall at:
https://8gwifi.org/CipherFunctions.jsp
npub1marc26z8nh3xkj5rcx7ufkatvx6ueqhp5vfw9v5teq26z254renshtf3g0
[882785](https://mempool.marc26z.com/block/00000000000000000001840e7986ea4b6ea103f5af9b524dc102be926a831dee)
[merch](https://marc26z.com/merch/)
**Follow me on nostr**.
All of my work is available under the Creative Commons 0 licence. If you would like to try my instance of Searxng and do not wish to support my work, find me on habla.news by searching my npub. You can find all of my work there(including encryption keys)free of charge.
# Paywall On Substack
abdominal.savior.repaint
Will decrypt this ciphertext:
523FeCpi9Gx4nR9NmSFIMEaYcI5Q4WmhYHPEPaEah84=
Which will reveal my instance of SearXNG at
https://searxng.marc26z.com/
[Subscribe on Subtack](https://substack.com/@marc26z)
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@ da0b9bc3:4e30a4a9
2025-02-07 21:38:56
It's Finally here Stackers!
It's Friday!
We're about to kick off our weekends with some feel good tracks.
Let's get the party started. Bring me those Feel Good tracks.
Talk Music. Share Tracks. Zap Sats.
Let's go!
https://youtu.be/6Whgn_iE5uc?si=ArBOHVpKN2OyNf1D
originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/879159
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@ dbb19ae0:c3f22d5a
2025-02-07 21:38:41
1. Downloading the linux package (1.8GB) https://cortex.so/docs/installation
2. Installing Cortex on linux is done via dpkg
`sudo dpkg -i cortex-1.0.9-linux-amd64-local-installer.deb`
it requires 2 linux packages (will add their names later)
3. When running Cortex,
`cortex start`
a local implementation will be running on http://127.0.0.1:39281
4. Using python it is possible to run queries
make sure the model name is correct
you can double check the value using:
` cortex ps`
Now the python program to run one little query:
``` python
import requests
url = "http://127.0.0.1:39281/v1/chat/completions"
headers = {"Content-Type": "application/json"}
payload = {
"model": "tinyllama:1b-gguf",
"messages": [
{
"role": "user",
"content": "Write a joke"
}
],
"stream": False,
"max_tokens": 128,
"stop": ["End"],
"frequency_penalty": 0.2,
"presence_penalty": 0.6,
"temperature": 0.8,
"top_p": 0.95,
}
response = requests.post(url, json=payload, headers=headers)
print(response.json())
```