The nuance of protocols vs apps though is lost on the masses. Most people just want to stare at reels or be stared at in reels.
This means that the only people you will encounter in protocols will be privacy freak type nerds and “normal” people you might actually feel better interacting with or watching are on popular apps.
This is Hacker News, none of us are normal :p
I think it's really that highly motivated individuals will power through garbage UX that regular users won't. Upsides like decentralization are abstract, UX is concrete. You need to get the UX right to give your real benefits a chance to shine.
Word. Leaving the made-to-be-accessible/engaging hyper-capitalistic walled gardens requires some initiative and/or agency, which unfortunately only the minority of people are willing to bother with. Either way, I like to make it more broadly known: there are, in fact, alternatives. Ask a geek near you to try out some neato stuff that isn't trying to make you spend all your money and/or isn't trying to manipulate your beliefs etc.
But yeah if the normal people are where all the ads and spam and nazis are, I'm fine being a weirdo :)