This new website has a design focused on writing and sharing. Which is great in theory, but at the end of the day I actually have to write something. The barrier to entry isn’t that high - just write some markdown and push it to git. But here’s the thing: I don’t know how likely it is that I’m always going to be sitting at my computer when I’ve got an idea for a note or project I want to share something about while it’s in progress.
Maybe I’m traveling. Maybe I’m in a park just thinking about stuff. Maybe I’m out of town. Maybe all I have is my phone. Managed website providers accommodate this pretty well with built-in editing apps. That’s why stuff like Squarespace or WordPress are popular, but that’s not the route I’ve chosen.
I wanted to have simple markdown files and a GitHub repository, which is great from a tech stack perspective, but from a content authoring perspective - how can I keep the tech stack as simple as possible while also maintaining a joyful experience? How can I make it possible to capture these thoughts in a way that works with my life rather than against it?
So there’s my problem: cool website, nice to write while I’m on the computer, but I’m not always on the computer. I gotta find some options to make this work.
What’s on the table?
Option one: Keep it Simple with GitHub Mobile
I could just use GitHub’s mobile app directly. When I have an idea, I’d open the app, create a new markdown file, and write it right there in the editor. Simple and straightforward - when I’m done, I hit commit and it’s live. The main appeal here is that it’s just one step from thought to published.
Option two: Let My Voice Do the Work - I could lean entirely into iOS 18’s dictation capabilities. When inspiration strikes, I just start talking and let my phone handle the typing. The new dictation is surprisingly accurate, and there’s something natural about just speaking my thoughts. This would let me capture ideas while walking or when typing isn’t convenient.
Option three: Write Now, Polish Later - I could start with quick captures - speaking my ideas into Apple Notes or Notion whenever they come to me. Later, I’d take those rough thoughts and shape them into something more polished using iOS’s AI writing tools or Claude. Once I’m happy with it, then I’d move it to GitHub. This gives me the freedom to capture ideas anywhere but still maintain quality.
There are some key challenges to consider with each of these AI utilities I’m thinking about incorporating into my writing process. I want the writing to still be authentically my voice - I’m not really looking for any of these tools to “AI up” my thoughts and ideas. To be honest, what I’m actually looking for is more basic: can you check those spots where Apple Dictation missed a comma or quotation mark? Can you ensure the paragraph spacing creates a pleasant reading experience? Can you make sure that the sentence structure is good?
Is AI necessary for any of this? Maybe not. But I’m also not opposed to it if it can help me meet the original goal of writing and sharing in a way that works with my life.
As part of evaluating these options, it will be important to compare how well Apple’s AI versus Claude’s AI can stick to what I’ve written without hallucinating or deviating from my intended message more than I’m comfortable with.
Option One: GitHub Mobile App
Alright, so I’m typing this section out with the GitHub Mobile app. First impression: it feels very clunky, and I think we’re going to need a better option here. It doesn’t quite feel the same as typing into something like Notion or Apple Notes. It’s really like I’m typing in any sort of mobile text editor or terminal emulator - they never really feel great. I definitely wouldn’t want to reach for this if I was trying to quickly note down an idea.
Option Two: Dictation
First up, I’m trying out Apple’s built-in dictation for writing out my notes. So far, this feels great - it gets a good amount of feedback with a nice little highlight around the cursor as it types, and it’s doing pretty accurate punctuation. This is definitely something that I would reach for if I was in an environment where I could talk out loud and it wouldn’t be awkward.
However, I’m probably not going to talk out loud in a coffee shop or at a park where there are families around, or they’d probably think I’m losing my mind a little bit. So take this with a grain of salt - I’ll reach for it if I can talk out loud, but I’m not always going to be able to do that.
Option Three: Write Now, Polish Later
This is probably the best option for me. I can capture my thoughts in a blank Notion page, and then I can use Notion AI, Claude, or Apple Intelligence to refine the structure of my writing before pasting it into the GitHub mobile app as a new markdown file.
Positive
- Writing notes in public places where it wouldn’t be appropriate to leverage the microphone.
- Using on-device AI keeps things simple and streamlined (for if I use Apple’s solution)
- Writing notes in a way that doesn’t require me to type into the Github mobile app’s text editor.
Negative
- I have to use multiple apps to write and polish my notes.
- I have to copy those notes from the Notion app into the GitHub mobile app to publish them.
Okay, so what are the conclusions after trying out each of these options? At the moment, I think Option Three is probably the best play. I like the way that Claude maintains my writing style and tone better than Apple’s intelligence editing. While I’m not thrilled about needing to write in an external tool just to get a positive experience, what’s cool about using Notion as my initial writing place is that I can always start by typing in the Notion mobile app and use AI to make subtle refinements to my writing before copying it over to GitHub.