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For me it’s the Zettelkasten/smart notes app I’m working on. I’ve been a frustrated with how I take notes from books, videos, blog posts, etc. I want to build a

For me it’s the Zettelkasten/smart notes app I’m working on. I’ve been a frustrated with how I take notes from books, videos, blog posts, etc. I want to build a zero-inbox style workflow around organising my notes consistently so that I can start to blog with a wealth of research and ideas at my fingertips. So I’ve started building Flowtelic. Early (no signup/in browser storage) version is live at https://app.flowtelic.com https://app.flowtelic.com. A video showing how to use it is here: https://youtu.be/Zo9hIuffz_0 https://youtu.be/Zo9hIuffz_0 I’m documenting as I build this over on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Martin_Adams https://twitter.com/Martin_Adams

helmholtz 6y ago
It's lovely. It's amazing how little things can make such a big difference. In your case, the index-card default size of the note subtly, but powerfully, encourages smaller notes. Typical new-age zettelkasten apps are still A4 sized pages, so this is a welcome change. I'll add some more pointless two cents. I use, and love, Obsidian for the following reasons. I'm a research engineer, and it supports latex equations, markdown formatting, pasting images from the clipboard, and syntax highlighting. It is also beautiful from the get go (as is your app); the line spacing is just-right, the colour scheme is pleasant, the editor and preview mode typefaces are both delightful. But, I do use it as a full-fledged note taking app. In your shoes (and contrary to the spirit of the thread, I admit), I would definitely spend time getting to know to whom you're targetting this app. Perhaps yourself, which is fair. But, for instance, it wouldn't work for someone like me. Still, I like what you've done here and I wish you all the best!!
- martin-adams 6y ago
  Thank you so much for the feedback. I too am an Obsidian user which is really nice for technical documentation. I have to be careful that I don’t confuse the audience: those who want to collect thoughts for writing; and those who organise notes for research (i.e. technical knowledge). I actually do both and there are different needs in each. The only things on your list that I hadn’t considered was latex equations and whether I should offer different design customisations of the cards. I’m glad you picked up on the index card size default. I will offer both full-page notes as well, but there’s another reason why I want them as card sized—so you can lay them out on a virtual workspace to help answer questions from your slip box. Honestly, there’s too many ideas that I can’t do everything. But it’s sure fun working on it and gradually making it better each release.
square_usual 6y ago
Powerfully simple. I'd love to be able to self-host this, or at least use it someplace with more persistance and sync across devices.
- martin-adams 6y ago
  Thanks! Yes, this is quite important. I plan for there to be a desktop version which allows you to backup/import/export your notes automatically to your own file system. Getting 100% markdown compatibility might be a challenge with some future features (like embedded images). Then there's the sync so you can jump onto different machines and continue.
octostone 6y ago
Oh man, I really want this. Are you collecting email addresses anywhere for when you’re ready for users?
- martin-adams 6y ago
  Really happy to hear that! Great idea, I've set up a landing page which I'll use to let you know when it's ready for early adopters. https://join.flowtelic.com/ https://join.flowtelic.com/
andrei_says_ 6y ago
Thank you love this

helmholtz 6y ago

It's lovely. It's amazing how little things can make such a big difference. In your case, the index-card default size of the note subtly, but powerfully, encourages smaller notes. Typical new-age zettelkasten apps are still A4 sized pages, so this is a welcome change. I'll add some more pointless two cents. I use, and love, Obsidian for the following reasons. I'm a research engineer, and it supports latex equations, markdown formatting, pasting images from the clipboard, and syntax highlighting. It is also beautiful from the get go (as is your app); the line spacing is just-right, the colour scheme is pleasant, the editor and preview mode typefaces are both delightful. But, I do use it as a full-fledged note taking app. In your shoes (and contrary to the spirit of the thread, I admit), I would definitely spend time getting to know to whom you're targetting this app. Perhaps yourself, which is fair. But, for instance, it wouldn't work for someone like me. Still, I like what you've done here and I wish you all the best!!

martin-adams 6y ago
Thank you so much for the feedback. I too am an Obsidian user which is really nice for technical documentation. I have to be careful that I don’t confuse the audience: those who want to collect thoughts for writing; and those who organise notes for research (i.e. technical knowledge). I actually do both and there are different needs in each. The only things on your list that I hadn’t considered was latex equations and whether I should offer different design customisations of the cards. I’m glad you picked up on the index card size default. I will offer both full-page notes as well, but there’s another reason why I want them as card sized—so you can lay them out on a virtual workspace to help answer questions from your slip box. Honestly, there’s too many ideas that I can’t do everything. But it’s sure fun working on it and gradually making it better each release.

square_usual 6y ago

Powerfully simple. I'd love to be able to self-host this, or at least use it someplace with more persistance and sync across devices.

martin-adams 6y ago
Thanks! Yes, this is quite important. I plan for there to be a desktop version which allows you to backup/import/export your notes automatically to your own file system. Getting 100% markdown compatibility might be a challenge with some future features (like embedded images). Then there's the sync so you can jump onto different machines and continue.

octostone 6y ago

Oh man, I really want this. Are you collecting email addresses anywhere for when you’re ready for users?

martin-adams 6y ago
Really happy to hear that! Great idea, I've set up a landing page which I'll use to let you know when it's ready for early adopters. https://join.flowtelic.com/ https://join.flowtelic.com/

andrei_says_ 6y ago

Thank you love this