If we look at it as a signal rather than monetary value: 100 likes on X Very easy to give no cost, no commitment. You don’t know if the accounts are bots, or if people just tapped like out of habit. It’s a signal of surface-level approval: shows popularity, but not necessarily real value.

100 sats in zaps on Nostr or SN They cost something (even if tiny). Each zapper spends their own sats. It shows active support: “I found value in this and it’s worth me giving actual money.” The signal is “denser”: a few zaps can carry more weight than hundreds of likes.

Even a small zap carries more weight than a like. So 100 sats in zaps (even if only worth a few cents) feels like a stronger signal than 100 likes on X, because it represents genuine intent, not just a button press.