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Following & Discovery

Find interesting people and curate your Nostr experience.

How Following Works​

When you follow someone:

  • Their posts appear in your feed
  • Your client fetches their content from relays
  • They may get notified (depends on client)
  • Your follow list is public (stored on relays)
You → Follow → Alice
              ↓
Your Client ← Fetches posts ← Relays storing Alice's content

Finding People to Follow​

In-App Discovery​

Most clients offer:

  • Suggested users - Popular accounts
  • Global feed - All public posts
  • Trending - Popular content
  • Who to follow - Recommendations

Find specific people:

  • Search by name
  • Search by npub (public key)
  • Search by NIP-05 (verified address)

Example searches:

jack                    (name)
npub1sg6plzptd64u62a878...  (public key)
jack@cash.app           (NIP-05)

Hashtags​

Discover through topics:

  • Browse hashtag feeds
  • Follow people posting about interests
  • Use #introductions to find new users

Cross-Following​

See who others follow:

  1. Visit someone's profile
  2. Look for "Following" section
  3. Browse their follows
  4. Follow interesting accounts

Follow Lists​

Your Main Follow List​

Your primary list of people you follow:

  • Appears in your home feed
  • Synced across clients
  • Public on relays

Managing Follows​

Most clients let you:

  • View all follows in one place
  • Unfollow easily
  • See follower/following counts

Importing Follows​

If you're new or switching clients:

  1. Log in with your nsec
  2. Your follows load automatically
  3. May take a moment to sync

Feed Curation​

Home Feed​

Shows posts from people you follow:

  • Most recent posts
  • Algorithm-free (usually)
  • Your curated experience

Other Feeds​

Feed TypeShows
GlobalAll public posts
TrendingPopular content
HashtagPosts with specific tag
MediaPosts with images/video

Tips for a Great Feed​

  1. Follow quality over quantity - Better content
  2. Mute accounts you don't like - Clean up feed
  3. Use hashtag feeds - Topic discovery
  4. Try different clients - Different feed algorithms

Followers​

Getting Followers​

Grow your audience:

  • Post interesting content
  • Engage with others
  • Use the #introductions hashtag
  • Be authentic and consistent

Follower Visibility​

  • Your follower count is public
  • Some clients show who follows you
  • Follower lists are on relays

Muting & Blocking​

Muting​

Hide content from specific users:

  • They won't know
  • Their posts disappear from your feed
  • You can unmute anytime

Blocking​

Stronger action:

  • Blocks direct messages
  • May hide all content
  • Client-specific implementation
note

Muting/blocking is handled by your client, not enforced network-wide. Others may still see the content.

Lists (Advanced)​

Some clients support custom lists:

Types of Lists​

  • Mute lists - People to ignore
  • Follow lists - Custom groups
  • Topic lists - Curated feeds

Creating Lists​

  1. Look for "Lists" in your client
  2. Create new list
  3. Add users
  4. Use list as a feed

Relay Strategy for Following​

How Relays Affect Following​

You only see posts from relays you're connected to:

You ← Relay A ← Alice (seen)
You    ----    Bob on Relay B (not seen)

Tips​

  • Use common relays to see more people
  • Check if followed accounts list their relays
  • Add relays where your follows post

→ See Understanding Relays

Following Etiquette​

Do's​

  • ✅ Follow people whose content you enjoy
  • ✅ Engage with people you follow
  • ✅ Give new follows a chance
  • ✅ Curate your experience

Don'ts​

  • ❌ Follow just to get follow-backs
  • ❌ Spam follow hundreds at once
  • ❌ Expect everyone to follow back
  • ❌ Unfollow immediately if not followed

Tools for Discovery​

nostr.band​

  • nostr.band
  • Search for users
  • See trending accounts
  • Explore topics

Nostr Apps Directory​

Community Resources​

  • Ask in #asknostr
  • Check community lists
  • Look at who others follow

Syncing Across Clients​

Your follow list syncs automatically:

  1. Follow someone on Damus
  2. Open Primal
  3. They're in your feed!

This works because follow lists are stored on relays, not in apps.

Next Steps​