Big Picture for Flowershow/DataHub Pages

Situation

• Context
  • Needs: Digital gardens, Data Literate documents (in turn evolution of wikis etc). Generally: combination of simplicity and power.
    • Simplicity: plain text documents. Can write in anything.
    • Power: markdown-plus + javascript-based rich components for anything you want + workflows (e.g. integrating bibliography)
    • Lego-ization, open-source, better UI of powerful tools (like git)
  • Tech: JAMStack approach especially with markdown and nextjs. Plus things in background like git (the database layer).
    • JADStack = Javascript, APIs and Data! (Data is CSV)
• Providing a tool that makes it easy to publish yet provides you the raw access and power
• Obsidian is a perfect example. Uses tech that was (and is) quite geeky … yet making it more accessible (e.g. WYSIWYG editor for markdown) whilst at same time preserving the power (plugins, templating and more). Example (perhaps) of innovator's dilemma type dynamics …
  • Markdown
  • Plugin architecture
• Aside: innovators dilemma for CMS: JAMStack gradually overtakes more "monolithic" CMS (or document editors in case of Obsidian)
• Several convergences
  • Content and Data: diminishing differences at least on publishing side
  • Online and offline. Desktop and cloud. e.g. using electron apps to build desktop.
  • Javascript: everything done in javascript. Always bet on javascript.
  • Plain text.
  • Git. DAG-style models for versioning
  • Cloud-first (?)
  • (Personal) Knowledge Management and Content Management e.g. dissolving difference between a raw notebook and wiki and "polished" website
• This approach has several features that are hard to reproduce in existing systems
  • Proper versioning support which then supports innovative contribution workflows (e.g. merges, including merges of trees rather than single documents)
  • Portability of content (markdown is plain text and remember unix philosophy: text as a universal interface)
  • Content is processable with standard tooling
  • Good decomposability of parts (componentized vs monolith like microsoft word or even wordpress)
  • Built in scripting language with massive adoption and support
• Basic point was that UI was a major barrier in the past e.g. really hard to use git, hard to edit markdown etc … tooling is getting better and better …

Complication

• Still painful to publish for many people (in the way they want).
  • What does it take to publish your obsidian vault?
    • Either use the built-in app. Can't customize. Standard template. Limited features.
    • Or put in git(hub), setup my own theme and publishing system using JAMStack system, set up deployment … and maintain it.
  • How do i turn a markdown file into an elegant site?
    • Can go to medium (?) or some markdown oriented publishing app (are there any?). Tweak theme. Probably pay or not own my content …
    • Set up myself (see previous point)
  • How do I put my CSV file or dataset online?
    • Steps of putting a CVS nicely online:
      • Nerdy approach: 1) create repo 2) commit CSV and README.md to repo 3) setup some kind of publishing JAMStack system 4) add support for showing the CSV in html 4) setup deployment (e.g. github pages, netlify etc) 5) share …
• Want something that is open-source-y in that people can extend and improve it … and a way to build a sustainable business

Question: Is there a way that BOTH gives me ownership and control of my content (and flexibility how I create and maintain it e.g. with content in standard format) AND allows me to publish quickly and elegantly and reliably (and without too much technical knowledge)?

Hypothesis: FlowerShow / DataHub Pages