Proof of concept digital garden with Obsidian and Blot

Modern personal knowledge management tools like Roam Research, Obsidian and Logseq are amazing. They've changed my workflow so much and I couldn't imagine a life without them anymore.

One aspect that still seems underdeveloped though is publishing a web of networked thoughts. These are sometimes also referred to as "Digital Gardens". Some notable ones include Andy Matuschak's notes and Maggie Appletons Digital Garden.

In most cases these people have created a custom solution. I've tried that, but it's a big time commitment.

Recently a friend of mine, @nosilverv on Twitter, published a glossary of his mental models in a Google doc. He asked his Twitter friends if someone could help him convert it into a Digital Garden of sorts.

I felt inspired to try a combination I thought might have potential: Obsidian + Blot.im.

Obsidian is a markdown-based tool for networked thought. It's not outliner based, like Roam and Logseq. Instead it's file based, which makes is very suitable for web publishing. I used Obsidian to organize the thoughts into different files, make sure the links between the worked and navigate the graph view.

Then I put the vault in a folder which got synced to Blot.im, which turns it into a nice, simple blog which is interlinked in a pleasant way. The result is a Digital Garden with minimal set up. The only cost is Blot ($4/month).