What if we built the internet, only to give it away?For Episode 7 of Connection, I'm joined by my good friend Derek Ross, a longtime Nostr advocate, builder, and fellow organizer of Nostr Valley.Three years ago, Derek and I connected on Nostr before realizing we lived just minutes apart. What started as a small Bitcoin meetup eventually grew into Nostr Valley, bringing together builders, developers, and friends from across the country.But this conversation goes well beyond Nostr Valley.We explore how the internet evolved from an open, decentralized network into an ecosystem dominated by a handful of powerful companies. We centralized to grow, but in the process, gave up much of our ownership, privacy, and control.What if we finally have the tools to take it back?We get into Nostr's evolution from a social protocol into something much bigger: an open infrastructure layer for communication, identity, applications, and even AI agents.We also talk about how AI is changing the economics of building, why personal intelligence and open-source software matter, and what happens when ordinary people can create tools without asking permission.And of course, we come back to community.From organizing Nostr Valley with little more than an idea and a few beers, to watching friendships and collaborations develop over three years, we've learned that technology is only part of the equation.People are what make it valuable.One idea that stuck with me from our conversation:We centralized the internet to help it grow. Now we may finally have the tools to decentralize it again.The future isn't guaranteed, and there are plenty of challenges ahead. But between open money, open communication, personal AI, and a growing community of builders, there's a lot to be optimistic about.We don't need to wait for someone else to build the future.We can build it ourselves.More bloom. Less doom. ⚡️Connection is presented by Zap Cooking, where we're building a food community on the open internet.https://zap.cookingPeople. Ideas. Food. Community.#Connection #Nostr #Bitcoin #AI #OpenSource #Community