Primal is where the same twelve people are having a very important conversation.
Iris is where some guy is explaining how he built a radio out of a potato.
That’s the difference.
I’ve been using both, and Primal keeps giving me the Nostr popular-kids table. The big accounts, the familiar replies, the same people talking to the same people. Everybody’s important. Everybody’s got a take. Somebody probably has a podcast about the take.
Iris feels more like the internet I actually want to be on. Quieter, weirder, and more likely to show me somebody doing something interesting instead of somebody being interesting. A guy building a radio. Somebody fighting with Linux. A person explaining a protocol to six people who actually give a shit.
And yes, both clients are looking at Nostr. Your follows and relays matter. I’m talking about the experience of using them, not claiming one has a secret potato-discovery algorithm.
I don’t need another room full of influencers explaining the future of civilization.
I want to know if the potato radio picks up AM.