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Re:Ask HN: What is your “I don't care if this succeeds” proj... by martin-adams on Monday February 01, 2021 @04:43PM (#25994405)
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.

A video showing how to use it is here: https://youtu.be/Zo9hIuffz_0

I’m documenting as I build this over on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Martin_Adams

Re:Ask HN: What is your “I don't care if this succeeds” proj... by helmholtz on Monday February 01, 2021 @05:02PM (#25994656)
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!!

Re:Ask HN: What is your “I don't care if this succeeds” proj... by martin-adams on Monday February 01, 2021 @05:20PM (#25994874)
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.

Re:Ask HN: What is your “I don't care if this succeeds” proj... by square_usual on Tuesday February 02, 2021 @05:10AM (#25999168)
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.
Re:Ask HN: What is your “I don't care if this succeeds” proj... by martin-adams on Tuesday February 02, 2021 @09:07AM (#26001059)
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.
Re:Ask HN: What is your “I don't care if this succeeds” proj... by octostone on Tuesday February 02, 2021 @09:17AM (#26001176)
Oh man, I really want this. Are you collecting email addresses anywhere for when you’re ready for users?
Re:Ask HN: What is your “I don't care if this succeeds” proj... by martin-adams on Tuesday February 02, 2021 @06:03PM (#26008277)
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/
Re:Ask HN: What is your “I don't care if this succeeds” proj... by andrei_says_ on Tuesday February 02, 2021 @01:30PM (#26004680)
Thank you love this