My Knowledge Base WorkFlow with Markdown

tags:

• 
  workflow
• knowledge base
• Research
• Sharing
• Creativity
• Article
• Markdown

Abstract

I have a method in my writing, in that I flesh out the idea for a piece of writing, in Markdown, ok the pencil notes are the thumbnail ideas! but I research it in Markdown and add links to any resource, including a more polished version of the Markdown in Google Docs, which I will explain.

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Article

My reason for this is I want all my research and ideas in one place, and the format made so that google can easily search and follow not just my links, but the narrative in a way that makes sense to me and Gemini.

I also want to make the notes as universal as possible, .md is in essence no more that basic text or .txt that’s readable by every computer, ok to see the formatting that markdown utilises a reader presents the markdown in an a formatted view ready to print or save as a pdf.

Markdown Software

In its basic form, any text editor can produce very reasonable markdown documents, by changing the suffix at the end of the file name from .txt to .md does not alter the content, its still text, but, markdown readers like my favorite “One Markdown” will recognise a markdown file and produce two windows, the left a version with extended code, and I use this term vert=y lightly, as its no more that the use of brackets or the use of hash tags, to format the text, and a right window showing the article or writing with the formatting applied.

There is no fee, no pay requirements to read your thoughts, no difficulty in only one software able to read the document, its plain text, any computer will read it. and readers are universal to every platform in existence.

You will see different Markdown Flavours, or versions being used, to add slightly more functionality but this only takes away the true use of the simplicity of Markdown, being readable on any basic computer, no other program being needed, and no lock in.

John Gruber created Markdown in 2004 as an easy-to-read markup language. Wiki says -Markdown is widely used for blogging, instant messaging, and large language models, and also used elsewhere in online forums, collaborative software, documentation pages, and readme files, end quote.

I have used predominantly four different programs:

1. One markdown,

2. A browser based Chrome app

3. VS Code

4. Obsidian

One Markdown

A small and very useful program thats now my go-to, it mostly sticks to the very basic version of Markdown and offers no frills that alter the way I want to use the file. I use One Markdown on my Mac, its ok, and works well, see below for how I save my files. There is a usfull dropdown menu that expands the use of code to add Simple maths, and the like.

My Browser markdown app,

Google does support Markdown, but it like a more updated version, so I found a chrome based app that is more to my liking. As its google I can save and work with it on my now old ChromeBook. It has a useful array of dropdown short cuts, some making the resultant .MD file a problem for me if I use them, rather than just typing the code I like from my cheat sheet.

VS or Visual Studio

This program is in a league of its own, its very powerful, and runs well on my Mac, and is a programmers delight, but it needs a lot of understanding, with the add ons, there are a number of different YouTube videos that try to explain it.

Obsidian

If there is any program associated with Markdown, this is the one I used for so long, on mostly my Mac, but also with a dalliance I had with Linux, it takes the power of VS Code and makes it simple, the add ons are easy to install, and I loved using it, but be aware, it adds its own code, making it easier to use, as far as Obsidian is concerned. But its still Markdown, just a different flavour. If you add some of the higher app then that function might not be seen as Markdown by the original programs, and thats why I now rarely use it.

Obsidian has one function thats a powerhouse in its own right, that is the Graph View, this links pdf, words, and search filters in a magical display of linked files. VS Code has a similar function and wow is it powerfull. [Linked Data](https://photos.app.goo.gl/KktUUUCFa7DDoyQG6) each dot is a file, this is files linked for datam each file showing its link to other files [linked data](https://photos.app.goo.gl/uEPARsWsPjDZpaSM9)

Pixel App

I use a simple little app on my pixel 9 phone, it’s so useful when travelling and I want to add a note or even make a short post, its simple, sticking to a really basic flavour of markdown, and it’s so easy to use.

Photos

I do not like adding photos to my notes, I prefer to link a photo via a short piece of code it keeps the .MD file small and saves me wondering if I have all the information, this way, I can add not one but as many photos I want, with no impact on file size. This goes for video and more often YouTube, by the way, do not add the embed code, just use the link. My conversations with Gemini are so important, so they to get linked.

Todays Photo

This is a living wall in Schipol Airport, and will be a part of an article I want to make on the subject. The square brackets contain the title and what you see, the brackets immediately after contain the link url, its a simple way to add photos, but you can’t add it to the text, or wrap, it just shows the photo in a new window.

Hashtags

The hashtag with a space defines the text style. One hashtag is a title and as large as it goes, adding more will reduce the font size and colour, I thing up to 6 hashtags can be used, I just use perhaps three, no more. I used to use hashtags, with no space between the “#” and the reference, to denote a link, but I could see that becoming a problem so now I use a simple - Link list.

A general template I use

Continuous Line

At the top of this article you will see a nice line , well a pair of lines that make the meta data I want, look clean and tidy, its made with three dash’s and basically makes an area I dedicate to Meta Data, which technically markdown can not handle, but by formatting the title and text into easily searchable formatted text, we can have Meta Data.

Meta Data

Frontmatter & Google Searchability, all the text is meta data as far as Google Search is concerned, but placing it in between two lines helps google when searching. The term for this is YAML Frontmatter.

I like to create metadata using say date: 2026-11-01 The colon and space makes it unique. Also use lowercase, I am told it is better for google.

This, I think, I will leave to a separate article on Markdown and Data, and how Google, Search engines in general can parse the text without cluttering the main body, with random links and data.

I use the share functions of Google to link both Youtube videos, and slides, plus if I want to create an article for publication It means I have to use Word, Ugh, so Just so I don’t forget, I link these formatted documents into the markdown master document.

Storage

I use Google files to store all my markdown, for one simple reason I want Gemini to easily see all my files, so when I ask a question or as it is so often I start a conversation on a particular topic, Gemini can see files and my level of research, helping it to answer in a more accurate manner. I use both a Mac and a Chromebook, the Mac is linked to the google files, so I use both One Markdown, my go to program, and Obsidian, ok I still like to test it out! on my mac, and on the Chromebook, I use the Chrome app. Below a screen grab of all my files! with only tags as links, open it up to attachments, as per the lower graphic, and it’s insane.

Conclusion

So That’s it, my knowledge base was hovering on 6,000 files, but with some duplicates, that came about from moving from Mac to Google, and with the help of Google Gemini this has been filtered down to 4,500 files. I have now got a system that’s got all my knowledge in a simple folder, all of it, no nesting of sub folders. I try and add metadata to aid search, and its, ready for whatever the industry throws at me, which is more the software companies trying to tie me into their programs,

Markdown is the future. linking and sharing the way forward to the future. For practitioners and students, it’s a way to build your own Knowledge Base, knowing it will survive intact, and not be controlled by software houses and programers.

I still have a love affair with paper, that will never change, the opening chapter in the Mitchells Construction Rewrite says it all. So does my scanned documents, mostly paper sketching and doodles of details. loaded up and notes added as I build an idea.

Why did I move away from Apple and the years I spent on Mac’s I just felt Apple has lost it’s way, Google, who I moved to because of the University interface “Moodle”, liked Google, it hated Apple, so I just slowly migrated over. On retiring, I thought I would move back to Apple, and did, but it was not a fun move, I missed the Google things I liked, and found Apple boring and restrictive. so one night, after again being told Apple pages just did not share well, I started moving back and have not regretted it. I even resurrected an old Chromebook, and it just needed a while to rebook, update and away I went, running Gemini.

I found an old Pixel 3 and added a Giffgaff SIM and was up and running, no need to upgrade, the Pixel 3 ran Gemini with an outdated OS. OK I did find a Pixel 9 XL 500GB phone on eBay and decided it might be worth a punt, and that was more to do with screen real estate than anything else, a modern OS came as a bonus.

And rather than block Markdown, Google just said, fine, let’s go there, oh and why not link the markdown file to a google Doc if you want to format the text a little?, oh and you can do the same for slides, and why not add a link to your gemini notes..... my workflow is growing or is that sharing is growing Huh.

And as for search, when was the last time I used the search Bar, I now use Gemini to discuss what I want to find, so much better.

I want to expand into detailing, not a simple sketch but a better way of showing how a detail works, and of course, it will be a Markdown File

Oh have you seen what Google is doing in space,,,,, oh that’s another story to tell.