The Destiny of Your Notes Depends on Their Data Model

It feels a little overwhelming to observe the sheer number of note-making apps that promise to “revolutionize your thinking” or something similarly impressive. I came across a website called the Markdown Handbook, which lists about forty markdown editors and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. If you’ve felt it’s too much, you’re not alone. Most of these tools offer endless variations of the same features, minor tweaks disguised as major innovations. We have an abundance of options, yet precious little genuine progress. And with AI ‘vibe-coding’ the field is expanding beyond all comprehension. Everyone can build their own writing app now and some of them look pretty good too. Joan Westenberg’s app Kerouac is just one example of how good the results can be.1 Recently I read Matt Brown’s essay “Your Data Model is Your Destiny,” which explores how software companies are shaped by their fundamental data structures. Now he’s an ‘early-stage investor’, writing for a tech start-up audience,…