Gist simplicity can turn blogging into a liberating experience.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| ✅ Free, simple, fast, hassle-free | ❌ Image upload in comments only |
| ✅ Tagging | ❌ No post pinning |
| ✅ Search | ❌ Doesn't look like a blog |
| ✅ Revisions | ❌ Unfriendly URLs |
| ✅ Comments | ❌ Cannot disable comments |
| ✅ Delete comments | ❌ Date only shown in Revisions |
| ✅ Markdown | ❌ Not WYSIWYG |
| ✅ Syntax highlighting | ❌ No fancy theme |
| ✅ One click copy (Fork) | |
✅ git clone gist URL |
|
| ✅ Not Wordpress, not Medium | |
| ✅ No ads | |
| ✅ No facebook/google tracking | |
| ✅ Reliable, secure, accessible |
A Gist post is a collection of one or more files. To use it as a blog, simply create a markdown (.md) file for each post and you're set.
If you're like me who also use Gist to share non non-blogging content, simply append #blog to blog Gist titles. Doing so allows us to search blog posts: user:ww9 #blog
Filters that work in Gist search.
| Search | Gists |
|---|---|
| stars:>100 | with more than 100 stars |
| user:ww9 | from user ww9 |
| #blog | with #blog in title or content |
| NOT #misc | not containing #misc in title or content |
| extension:go | with .go files |
| forks:<200 | with less than 200 forks |
| size:1000..4000 | having a file between 1000kb and 4000kb |
| size:>4000 | having a file larger than 4000kb |
| Search | Result |
|---|---|
| #blog user:ww9 | My blog posts |
| stars:>100 extension:go | .go gists with more than 100 stars |
Users can upload images in comments simply copying and pasting the image using CTRL+V. Drag-n-Drop works as well. I guess this wont work on mobile phones.
You can delete any comment from your gists.
- Multiple files in a post are listed in alphabetical order. To make a file appear first on the list, prepend its name with a space. To make it appear last, prepend filename with
~. Numbers also work.
| Tool | Notes |
|---|---|
| GitHub Flavored Markdown Spec | Comprehensive |
| Stackedit - online markdown editor | Feature rich with live preview. Publishes to Github (haven't tested). |
| Minimalist Online Markdown Editor | Fast with live preview. |
See my other gist called Gist Markdown Examples for ways to format posts in Gist.
Happy blogging!
🤔 with the GitHub API, the contents and comments of a gist could be easily retrieved. A combination of .md and code files, ordered as you've indicated, could be presented on a regular blog for a native experience, comments included! Interaction could be encouraged by pushing readers of the blog to comment on GitHub.
This would address many of your cons!
I've been looking for a way to have a blog on my static personal site, this seems like a pretty interesting option 😃.