Seek.
Unlike traditional online databases, Nostr relays do not gather mass amounts of information like giant, corporate owned servers. Nor do they function like the smaller, yet segregated servers that many other social protocols have been designed to incorporate. Information on the Nostr network is spread across thousands of relays, and organized in multiple ways. These relays are run by individuals, organizations & companies alike. They vary in size, capacity, content, user numbers, and geographical location. While most Nostr notes (and other stuff) are spread across multiple relays, this also makes the searching for specific things a little different than "googling" a term. Looking for different things, like searching for a person vs a specific term, is best achieved by using different tools. Decentralization of the data also means decentralization of the ways that we engage with it. None of this is difficult, its just different.
People Search:
Searching for person on Nostr is super simple, and you have multiple approaches that you can use. Many clients offer profile search directly within their interface. You can search by name, NIP-05 identifier, and npub or any of its various formats. When searching by name, it is good practice to visit the user's profile and verify that it is the account that you are looking for to avoid being duped by a scammer or copycat.
If your preferred client offers precision relay controls, you can connect to a relay that specializes in indexing user profiles for better results. These relays host the pertinent information housed in your nprofile, which makes it possible for users to find each other's notes.
If your favorite Nostr client doesn't have an in-app search feature, or you are simply not finding satisfactory results, tools like npub.world offer powerful, independent profile searches. Utilizing AI and indexing similar to Pagerank to sift out scammers, spammers, and bots, you are sure to find the npub you are seeking. These services may be incorporated within some clients that leverage the interoperability of Nostr.
Note Search:
For when you want to look up something that you have already seen, there are a ton of note search tools that all offer different functionality. Some allow to search by author and time frame, others search by event ID (which also goes by many names, i.e. note ID, Nostr link, naddr, nevent). All of these search tools vary in performance, based on whatever criteria they use to search, along with what relays they are able to access. Its up to you to decide which will work best for your purposes.
A couple of my favorite examples:
Term Search:
Term search is best achieved within a client that allows for fine-grained relay controls. Connecting to a general search relay will open up wider swathes of the network for searching than your usual read/write relays can enable. These search relays will use various methods, like crawling and indexing, to gather as much data as possible that may apply to your search. Returns are sometimes a wild list of results that may include profile bios, note content, lists, and other types of events. Oddly enough, search quickly becomes discovery and you may find interesting and unexpected things, in addition to the information you were looking to find.
Relay Search:
All this talk about specialized relays for searching but where do you find them? Relay search tools exist just for that. In addition to the many curated lists of suggested relays, like this, you can also use relay search to find the relays you want to try. Results about a relay may include location, uptime, user numbers and more.
Paid Search Services:
Nostr clients built on a traditional business structure may include upgraded search options as part of their paid services. If your favorite client offers a subscription services, consider upgrading to support their business while enhancing your own experience.
Dude, Where's My Note?:
Sometimes things will get lost, a relay will go down, or your client just can't find it. For times like this, there are tools to search by event ID across the network to figure out where your note are being stored. These tools also come in handy for verifying redundancy or trying to reign in your reach:
Happy Hunting :)
#nostr