Markdown Manifesto [Markdown is Awesome]

Markdown Manifesto [Markdown is Awesome]

X ❤️ markdown

Use Markdown Everywhere

Markdown is eating the world

So simple everyone can use it, every tool can implement it

We believe Markdown is Awesome

We believe that the markdown ecosystem can take over the world.

It can become the standard format for sharing text-baesd information – and even for creating mini-databases and catalogs. Move over Notion, markdown is here!

Choose markdown and you choose freedom, power and simplicity and the most awesome ecosystem of tooling in the world.

Choose markdown means you owning your content – rather than someone else's tool or platform owning you.

AI ❤️ markdown

Version control ❤️ markdown

Docs ❤️ markdown

Yes markdown started out as the geek underdog that just showed up in text areas on the internet. But it's like the punk teenager become slick yuppie adult. Markdown is sexy now. Markdown is slick. WYSIWYG markdown is everywhere (think Obsidian, think tiptap, think substack)

What is markdown

Wait, i hear you ask. But what is markdown and why is so awesome?

Markdown is XX (something succinct)

Markdown is awesome because … (see list below): minimal extension beyond plain text. human useable. machine usesable (especially for AI!), it's open and useable by anyone, implemented everywhere, as plain text based every tool can you use it, and all plain text oriented tools can use it e.g. git, AI etc. markdown-specific tooling is very strong etc etc.

Markdown with superpowers. Aka markdown is extensible.

And we aren't just talking about the basic, commonmark standardized markdown here. Because the awesome thing here is that Markdown is so simply extensible.

First, off you can just put html in markdown. So you need some fancy layout – no problem just roll up your html and you're done.

But that's not really what we mean. Markdown has these special triple back sections. And some came up with the neat idea of labelling them.

```mermaid
```

This means you can create special section and embed entire other tools inside your markdown - as long as they are plain text based too … Here's just a few examples:

  • mermaid. You can insert mermaid diagrams inside markdown like this:
  • …

And then there's just other stuff from task lists with - [ ] (made famous by github) to tables

| I am | a table |
|------|---------|
|How cool | is that! |

Markdown-based X: the rise of the markdown ecosystem.

It's not about the format, it's about the tools. And … the tools need a common language.

What you care about is doing something, not the format.

What you want to do is talk to someone, you don't care too much about the language …

So really it is about markdown-based X. e.g. markdown-based notetaking app. or markdown-based documentation tool. Or makdown-based messaging in a chat app. We care about the features of the tool or app or platform.

But the point is that the underlying format matters because we need to connect between tools and people. Just like it may not matter which language you are speaking but it does matter you are all speaking the same language.

Secondarily the ecosystem matters: all these tools want to interconnect. All the users want to only know one format.

So just as english is taking over the world, so is markdown taking over the world.

TODO: explain this a bit lot better. I think key point is that ecosystem is what we really care about (it's the platformnomics). So it is less about markdown itself than about the markdown ecosystem i.e. Markdown-based X!

Markdown awesomeness

  • Human readable and machine readable
  • Minimal viable syntax beyond plain text (whilst still being plain text)
  • Because plaintext
  • Supported everywhere from WhatsApp to Google Docs to (almost) Apple Notes. Everything speaks markdown.

Appendix: Examples of Markdown extensions (beyond backticks)

  • e.g. stripe markdoc
  • …

History of Markdown and notable innovators

  • Gruber and Aaron Schwartz. Internet legends Aaron Schwartz and John Gruber.

Appendix: explain a markdown file (raw) compared to html, microsoft word, notion, wordpress etc

Appendix: acknowledge the haters and critics …

Yes, markdown can't do complex strutures e.g. grids or blocks etc etc. That's completely right.

And that's partly its beauty. It makes you keep things simple.

And sure if you want more complex stuff you need that …

Appendix: Markdown (based) for X

  • Markdown Notion
  • Markdown for (mini)-databases (of documents) e.g. what Notion etc does
  • Markdown for (Personal) Knowledgebases and notetaking
  • Markdown for documentation
  • Markdown for websites
  • Markdown for chat …

Appendix: massive catalog of tools that support markdown

  • Chat apps that support markdown (all of them!)
  • Docs tools
  • editors like tiptap etc etc

If we got ambitious we'd even doc their level of support.

What is "freedom"

  • Tool freedom: use the tool you want. combine tools.
  • Freedom to own your content (and therefore to leave and go elsewhere or do things your way)

AI and markdown

Why this is revolutionary …

  • Token economics (no of tokens matter)
  • Markdown is minimal viable syntax/semantics beyond plain text
  • Tool interoperability: want to copy and paste into and out of AI chat all the time. Markdown is minimum fidelity for that … (especially at the beginning