ellingham is one of my favourite "bitcoin" podcasters. for me, he straddles the line between bitcoin and other interesting things/topics (bitcoin is not even in the name!) without being redundant. he also does a great job of leading the conversation with great questions.
I don't recall watching a better podcast episode in a long time. It's not because I'm biased. Great interviewer and a great guest. The urban design discussion hit hone with me. Some of my fondest childhood memories involve summer evenings with my entire extended family sitting outside on a Brooklyn sidewalk to get out of the heat pre air conditioning. Gossiping, talking to neighbors, and watching people walk past. Would I trade it for a/c? Probably not, but I miss the experience.
Yep. My memories are fond, but plenty of arguing and yelling went on too! My grandfather's old girlfriend (thirty years ago) lived on the same block. My grandmother would always chide him as she walked by- "Hey Joe, why don't you go talk to your girlfriend."
It wasn't extra marital. I didn't describe it well. He broke up with her to marry my grandmother. She was happily married to someone else. My grandmother still wanted to mess with him.
In this video, Cody Ellingham interviews Kian Kousha, the founder of Stacker News, a forum that uses Bitcoin to rank content and reward users [00:36]. Here are the key takeaways from their discussion:
Building a Good Community: Kian believes that building a good online community is like building an in-person one, with a focus on thoughtful people helping each other [01:36]. He feels that online communities can be a more efficient and "hyper" version of what people look for in person, where the collective is greater than the sum of its parts, leading to more fulfilling and productive lives for members [02:10].
Incentives and Nuance: Stacker News was inspired by the Austin Bitcoin Devs meetup, where Kian felt a strong sense of community [03:39]. He wanted to bring that feeling online for Bitcoin-related content, as he couldn't find a platform with the "Hacker News feel" for Bitcoin [04:40]. The use of the Lightning Network on Stacker News helps create a "sane and comfy" environment by preventing spam and bad actors, which often requires subjective human moderation on other platforms [05:36].
"Walled Gardens" and Community Design: Kian clarifies that his intention with Stacker News was to create a "garden," not a "walled garden" [27:04]. He wanted the "walls" to be defined by accessible means, primarily money (Bitcoin micro-payments), rather than identity or exclusive social connections [27:14].
Analogy to Urban Planning: Kian draws parallels between building online communities and urban planning, particularly referencing Jane Jacobs' ideas about sidewalks as critical elements for a self-policing and vibrant city [35:04].
The Future of Digital Interaction: Kian observes a pendulum swing back towards smaller, more intimate online groups, moving away from the mass panopticon of platforms like Facebook and Instagram [20:59].
Stacker News Team and Roadmap: The Stacker News team is small, consisting of Kian, EK, and Socks, with contributions from Kevin Rook, Carr (for the podcast), and Pleb Poet (for their Zen) [01:02:27]. A key roadmap item is to make "territories" (Stacker News' version of subreddits) more atomic, allowing more people to use Stacker News' tools to build their own communities [01:08:21].
Austin as a Bitcoin Hub: Kian discusses Austin's growth as a Bitcoin hub, attributing it to the presence of companies like Unchained Capital, the influx of people during COVID, and the emergence of numerous Bitcoin meetups and co-working spaces like Pleblab and Bitcoin Park [01:04:16].
hotall day for 10k sats is cheap. Maybe it just shouldn't be linear.