It is a good habit to recommend products to others, but if it is not done well, both parties will have a bad experience.
A few days ago, a discussion was initiated in the Telegram channel @FindBlog:
If your friend wants to write a blog, which blogging tool or method would you recommend to them? Premise: Your friend is a beginner, not familiar with technology or coding.
I have encountered this kind of question many times, but I prefer to be straightforward and tell the other person that if they provide the funds, I will handle the technical aspects and set up a ready-to-use blog for them later. However, in the end, the other person may feel discouraged and lose interest. There is also another situation where the other person wants to write a blog, and sometimes I would make an effort to provide suggestions, discuss the pros and cons of various blogging systems, important considerations, domain names, servers, and other related topics. However, when the other person hears all of this, it seems too complicated and they might say they are busy now and will contact me later when they have time. My enthusiasm is instantly dampened by their cold response.
From Simple to Complex#
When learning to use a certain product or service, my principle is to start with the simple and gradually move towards the complex. Learning anything is a step-by-step process, and one cannot expect to run before learning to walk. The same applies to writing a blog and using note-taking applications.
Regarding the question mentioned above, I have compared and thought about it, and finally reached a conclusion.
First, I ruled out static blogging platforms such as Hugo, Hexo, and Jekyll, because the process of generating a blog, publishing content, and deploying it is relatively complex. Ordinary people may not even come into contact with tools and websites like GitHub and Git, let alone understand them.
Next, I ruled out using Notion as a blogging platform, such as NotionNext, because it requires a detailed understanding of Notion. If someone doesn't frequently use Notion, it can be quite complicated for them.
I did consider dynamic blogging platforms like WordPress and Typecho. With these platforms, one can register a domain, purchase a server or virtual hosting, upload the source code and themes, and start writing a blog with just a few steps. It may seem simple, but it requires the user to be very careful, patient, and have a high learning ability. Searching for WordPress setup tutorials on Google will yield a plethora of results, and by following the steps slowly, one can succeed. Personally, I started by reading tutorials on setting up Emlog, then searched for free virtual hosting and free subdomains, and gradually learned about and studied WordPress, eventually registering my own domain, purchasing a server, and setting up a blog.
Lastly, I highly recommend online hosted blogging platforms such as Gridea and xLog. The former is a paid service, while the latter only requires an email or virtual currency wallet address for registration and is open-source. I recommend these two because their developers have a good reputation in the industry, are well-known, and are highly trustworthy. As for data loss, the developers should have taken all necessary precautions. Additionally, considering the cost, Gridea only requires a $10 annual expense, and if you want a custom domain, you would need to register it separately. xLog is free unless you also want to bind your own domain. The biggest advantage of these services is that they eliminate the maintenance cost. If your site encounters any issues, you just need to report it to the developers and wait for them to fix it. All you need to do is write. (Typlog is also a good choice, but it is more expensive, so I didn't include it in the comparison.)
If you read the above content from bottom to top, it is essentially a process from simple to complex. Writing a blog is like this as well. We need to first develop an interest in blogging, gradually become proficient, experience the joy of writing and tinkering with blogs, and then seek more complex ways of doing it.
From Spontaneity to Habit#
Three days of fishing and two days of drying the net is not the right attitude.
Now let's talk about recommended note-taking applications.
Because my girlfriend occasionally writes book reviews or movie reviews, I asked her if she had a unified place to save these contents. She said she didn't, and from what I understood, she usually writes them in the notes app on her phone and then posts them on WeChat Moments or Weibo. Storing them in the notes app is sufficient, but if you consider the ability to search and retrieve them later, it would be difficult without tags as an index. So I recommended that she use flomo.
Later, I asked her how she felt about it, and she said it was quite useful and had many features while being simple.
In recent years, there has been an abundance of note-taking applications. After looking around, I found that flomo has the lowest learning curve. You just need to register an account, start recording, add tags if needed, organize them well, or upload a few images. You won't even need to touch the "advanced features" like bidirectional linking. Notion's advantage is also its disadvantage—it's an all-in-one tool, too complex, and it still hasn't released a Chinese version, which is one of the reasons why I discourage using it. Obsidian doesn't have an official free sync service, and third-party sync services are also complicated for beginners... As for other note-taking applications in China, they are even less worth mentioning.
In contrast, flomo is simple and plain, focusing on the function of recording thoughts and inspirations anytime, anywhere. Even without a premium membership, its features are sufficient. Its development team is also trustworthy.
Similar to recommending blogging platforms, recommending note-taking applications requires a tailored approach. Different people have different usage habits and knowledge reserves, so blindly recommending what you think is good is not the right approach. Instead, you should recommend products that you think are suitable for their usage habits based on their work content, professional knowledge, and habits. The process may be cumbersome and complex, but when the other person experiences the joy of using a good product, it will all be worth it.
Tools Are Not Important#
This is also a widely supported viewpoint. How you write and what you use to write are not important; the most important thing is to write.
First, have them register a public account. In the beginning, even if there are not many followers, they should continue to update regularly. If they can't maintain a consistent output, it doesn't matter what tools they use.
Different strokes for different folks. Some people are not limited by tools and can write anywhere. However, having a good tool can also improve efficiency and enhance the experience.
Finally, let's summarize briefly.
If you want to write a blog, you might as well start with using Gridea or xLog, write your first blog post, then browse other people's blogs, learn from experienced bloggers, and gradually explore more complex programs. If you want to take notes, you might as well start with using flomo, record your flashes of inspiration, and let them gather like a stream, slowly forming a vast ocean.