I started using Obsidian in 2020. Before that, I tried a variety of note-taking apps, such as Evernote, OneNote, Google Keep, Apple Notes, Notion, and many more.
I began with Evernote a decade ago and used it for free for a long time. I loved the app—you could easily take notes with images, and the clipper was a killer feature. However, things started to go downhill when they switched to a heavy subscription-based model. Around that time, I began looking for alternatives, such as OneNote, Google Keep, and Apple Notes.
But each of them was lacking in one way or another. For example, OneNote was lacking in sync capabilities, and Google Keep was not suitable for long-form notes. Neither of them was great at linking notes together. Around that time, both Notion and Obsidian were on the horizon. I tried Notion, and it was amazing. You could link notes together, create databases, and use block-based notes. However, it was entirely web-based, meaning you couldn’t read your notes offline, and it did not work well on mobile devices. It was very clunky to use on mobile.
I also tried Obsidian, which was lightweight. As a developer, I find writing markdown in Obsidian more enjoyable due to the simplicity of the syntax. I can open it whenever I want and jot down my thoughts. In addition, Obsidian is local-first, and the notes are markdown-based. That means I can open my notes in any text editor and use Git to sync my notes across devices. I don’t have to worry about losing my notes if the provider goes down.
In 2020, I was preparing for my AWS exam. There was a lot of information to take in due to the wide range of topics and services, and I needed a way to organize it. I started using Obsidian more seriously. I was able to link my notes about AWS services, which helped me visualize the relationships between services clearly. It gave me a better understanding of the whole AWS ecosystem. Then I started to use it for my daily notes.
My notes are growing, and I can see the dots of the web of notes connecting, which is evolving into a knowledge graph. I also started to use it for other purposes, such as my project notes and my journal.
At the same time, the Obsidian ecosystem was growing. I was able to find a lot of plugins that helped me be more productive, such as Mindmap, Calendar, and many more. Every now and then, I find a new plugin that helps me become even more productive.
However, there isn’t any place for Obsidian lovers to discover and share these “gems.” That’s why I created a website to showcase these plugins.