Derek Ross and Heather Larson of Soapbox Technology sit down to chat about what’s buzzing in the decentralized social space of Nostr and AI for a fresh edition of Soapbox Sessions. They break down their new podcast platform, Podstr, which they vibe coded using Soapbox tools, and why giving power back to the community matters. They riff on the headaches of mobile ecosystems, the crazy‑fast rise of Nostr apps, and how AI tools like Gemini (hello, Nano Banana!) are opening up wild creative possibilities. Heather and Derek also dive into the spirit of collaboration that fuels the Nostr community, the ups and downs of micro‑payments, and why we still need smarter ways to discover cool content. Oh, and they give us the lowdown on the upcoming Nostr Valley event—don’t miss it! Chapters 00:00 - Introduction 03:40 - The Launch of Podstr 06:35 - Dogfooding and Community Empowerment 09:34 - Decentralization in Podcasting 12:42 - Mobile Tech and Ecosystem Lock-in 15:32 - Nostr News and App Development 18:41 - The Digital Spaghetti Age 21:31 - Nostr's Growth and Future Prospects 23:46 - Exploring Nostr Search Tools 25:11 - DDoS Attacks and Infrastructure Challenges 26:36 - Testing New Apps: RUNSTR and Its Features 28:10 - The Role of Community in App Development 32:04 - AI Innovations: Gemini and Nano Banana 38:43 - Nostr's Place in the Social Media Landscape 47:20 - Building Community Through Consistency 48:12 - The Demand for Micro Payments on Bluesky 48:27 - Understanding Bitcoin and Its Stigma 49:57 - The Role of Micro Payments in Engagement 52:16 - Algorithms: The Good, The Bad, and The Future 54:04 - The Concept of Algorithm Marketplaces 55:51 - Content Discovery and User Engagement 56:58 - The Future of Nostr and Upcoming Events 01:01:35 - Listener Engagement and Boosts 01:03:27 - Teasing Future Content and Community Growth Submit a news tip or ask a question: https://soapbox.pub/soapbox-sessions/ Find tools on the website: https://soapbox.pub/ Follow on X: https://x.com/SoapboxTech Follow on Nostr: https://primal.net/p/nprofile1qqs8sxs4yuz47axp7uprpugrs3sfkdz5379tdg9xe2n5qfvz070a4egc9mrhy ⭐ Support the podcast on Podcast 2.0 open networks: The one we built, Podstr: https://sessions.soapbox.pub/ Listen on Fountain: https://fountain.fm/show/aq7IaS6bdQ6kF6NWDzzc Become a fan on True Fans: https://truefans.fm/soapbox-sessions Podverse: https://podverse.fm/podcast/hPdQ-otsG Podcast Guru: https://app.podcastguru.io/podcast/1837576097 Podcast Index: https://podcastindex.org/podcast/7473968 🔵 Listen on closed networks/walled gardens: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1uBFCX46GH0npKB46stxAO Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/soapbox-sessions/id1837576097