Ads Fueling Freedom#
Ross Ulbricht's "Decentralize Social Media" painted a picture of a user-centric, decentralized future that transcended the limitations of platforms like the tech giants of today. Though focused on social media, his concept provided a blueprint for decentralized content systems writ large. The PROMO Protocol, designed by NextBlock while participating in Sovereign Engineering, embodies this blueprint in the realm of advertising, leveraging Nostr and Bitcoin's Lightning Network to give individuals control, foster a multi-provider ecosystem, and ensure secure value exchange. In this way, Ulbricht's 2021 vision can be seen as a prescient prediction of the PROMO Protocol's structure. This is a testament to the enduring power of his ideas, now finding form in NextBlock's innovative approach.
[Current Platform-Centric Paradigm, source: Ross Ulbricht's Decentralize Social Media]
Ulbricht's Vision: A Decentralized Social Protocol#
In his 2021 Medium article Ulbricht proposed a revolutionary vision for a decentralized social protocol (DSP) to address the inherent flaws of centralized social media platforms, such as privacy violations and inconsistent content moderation. Writing from prison, Ulbricht argued that decentralization could empower users by giving them control over their own content and the value they create, while replacing single, monolithic platforms with a competitive ecosystem of interface providers, content servers, and advertisers. Though his focus was on social media, Ulbricht's ideas laid a conceptual foundation that strikingly predicts the structure of NextBlock's PROMO Protocol, a decentralized advertising system built on the Nostr protocol.
[A Decentralized Social Protocol (DSP), source: Ross Ulbricht's Decentralize Social Media]
Ulbricht's Principles#
Ulbricht's article outlines several key principles for his DSP:
User Control: Users should own their content and dictate how their data and creations generate value, rather than being subject to the whims of centralized corporations.
Decentralized Infrastructure: Instead of a single platform, multiple interface providers, content hosts, and advertisers interoperate, fostering competition and resilience.
Privacy and Autonomy: Decentralized solutions for profile management, hosting, and interactions would protect user privacy and reduce reliance on unaccountable intermediaries.
Value Creation: Users, not platforms, should capture the economic benefits of their contributions, supported by decentralized mechanisms for transactions.
These ideas were forward-thinking in 2021, envisioning a shift away from the centralized giants dominating social media at the time. While Ulbricht didn't specifically address advertising protocols, his framework for decentralization and user empowerment extends naturally to other domains, like NextBlock's open-source offering: the PROMO Protocol.
NextBlock's Implementation of PROMO Protocol#
The PROMO Protocol powers NextBlock's Billboard app, a decentralized advertising protocol built on Nostr, a simple, open protocol for decentralized communication. The PROMO Protocol reimagines advertising by:
Empowering People: Individuals set their own ad prices (e.g., 500 sats/minute), giving them direct control over how their attention or space is monetized.
Marketplace Dynamics: Advertisers set budgets and maximum bids, competing within a decentralized system where a 20% service fee ensures operational sustainability.
Open-Source Flexibility: As an open-source protocol, it allows multiple developers to create interfaces or apps on top of it, avoiding the single-platform bottleneck Ulbricht critiqued.
Secure Payments: Using Strike Integration with Bitcoin Lightning Network, NextBlock enables bot-resistant and intermediary-free transactions, aligning value transfer with each person's control.
This structure decentralizes advertising in a way that mirrors Ulbricht's broader vision for social systems, with aligned principles showing a specific use case: monetizing attention on Nostr.
Aligned Principles#
Ulbricht's 2021 article didn't explicitly predict the PROMO Protocol, but its foundational concepts align remarkably well with NextBlock's implementation the protocol's design:
Autonomy Over Value: Ulbricht argued that users should control their content and its economic benefits. In the PROMO Protocol, people dictate ad pricing, directly capturing the value of their participation. Whether it's their time, influence, or digital space, rather than ceding it to a centralized ad network.
Ecosystem of Providers: Ulbricht envisioned multiple providers replacing a single platform. The PROMO Protocol's open-source nature invites a similar diversity: anyone can build interfaces or tools on top of it, creating a competitive, decentralized advertising ecosystem rather than a walled garden.
Decentralized Transactions: Ulbricht's DSP implied decentralized mechanisms for value exchange. NextBlock delivers this through the Bitcoin Lightning Network, ensuring that payments for ads are secure, instantaneous and final, a practical realization of Ulbricht's call for user-controlled value flows.
Privacy and Control: While Ulbricht emphasized privacy in social interactions, the PROMO Protocol is public by default. Individuals are fully aware of all data that they generate since all Nostr messages are signed. All participants interact directly via Nostr.
[Blueprint Match, source NextBlock]
Who We Are#
NextBlock is a US-based new media company reimagining digital ads for a decentralized future. Our founders, software and strategy experts, were hobbyist podcasters struggling to promote their work online without gaming the system. That sparked an idea: using new tech like Nostr and Bitcoin to build a decentralized attention market for people who value control and businesses seeking real connections.
Our first product, Billboard, is launching this June.
Open for All#
Our model's open-source! Check out the PROMO Protocol, built for promotion and attention trading. Anyone can join this decentralized ad network. Run your own billboard or use ours. This is a growing ecosystem for a new ad economy.
Our Vision#
NextBlock wants to help build a new decentralized internet. Our revolutionary and transparent business model will bring honest revenue to companies hosting valuable digital spaces. Together, we will discover what our attention is really worth.
Read our Manifesto to learn more.
NextBlock is registered in Texas, USA.
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