I came across this article by Andy Ihnatko, over at MacWorld’s UK website and started thinking about my own experiences working in a post-PC World since the iPad was introduced. After reflecting on how I use my iPad and arriving at similar conclusions about how this device has changed the way that I work online as a content maker, I thought I’d share the process I’m using with my iPad to write this blog. Keep in mind this is not intended to be an in-depth review of the applications being used, but as a general guideline.
- To show the seriousness of the iPad as a content creation device.
- And provide a brief outline of my writing workflow with respect to how this Post-PC platform has allowed me to capture my ideas, write and maneuver technology in different ways to get the job done.
Here are 6 reasons, that led me to transition from using a traditional MacBook Pro to using my iPad as my dedicated online content writing tool.
- iOS applications have matured and now offer users a wider spectrum of functionality.
- Apple continues to improve iOS software, most notably with the “open in” feature that allows apps to open their files directly inside other applications with similar filing formats.
- The iPad’s battery life continues to have an advantage among other mobile devices, up to ten hours!
- Compared to a laptop. It remains a much lighter portable device to carry around.
- The mobile combination of the iPad, and iPhone have been able to rescue me from the challenges of not having the luxury to dedicate a set schedule for writing.
- Finally, after noticing more statistics documenting the increase of tablet devices and their users in the market and as a content maker and technologist, I feel more connected with where things are headed.
My writing workflow, on the Mac
The above screenshot best illustrates my workflow on the Mac platform. Notice I like to work within a split screen configuration. On the left side is the writing application Byword, which is my favorite Markdown text editor, for this task. On the right side of the screen, I find it handy to keep a browser window open in Safari that functions as my research and linking reference portal for outside content on the web. To do all this, (liking stuff) I rely on the Markdown Service Tools, that’s been kindly provided by Brett Terpstra, for this markup language. Below the browser, always open and close at hand, is the default dictionary/thesaurus application, that acts as my lifesaver for those special times when I need to be rescued out of trouble.
As you can see, this is a simple writing set up. Byword is a beautiful and straight ahead application that allows me to do one thing–Write! Once the final draft is written and ready to go, I paste the HTML-code that Byword provides onto a new draft post in my WordPress website. Then, I go edit it one last time and add any metadata, (like category, tags, etc.) onto the final post. After these steps have been completed, the magic happens, and it appears on this website.
iOS A slightly different process, same result.
Honestly, it wasn’t until the arrival of the PDA’s (with my trusty Palm Pilot) that I started to feel secure enough in finding other alternative methods of capturing my ideas outside the traditional methods of using Post-it notes and Index cards. With the arrival of the iPad, capturing those ideas and tinkering with them to make something useful out of all the mess provided me with a different approach.
A blog post usually starts out, in one of the following capturing buckets:
- As a Mind Map on, ithoughts HD
- As a traditional outline on, OmniOutliner
A mind map of this blog post, using iThoughts HD
Once the smoke clears and I’m left with a working structure on any of these two apps, I save the files (via the OPML or Markdown file format). I then send them over via the “open in” feature to the Writing Kit iOS writing application (as shown in the screenshot above). There, the document takes shape, edited, researched, and linked to outside references. Again, this all happens while working within the Markdown formatted language I’ve come to enjoy. Once the final draft is done, similar actions are taken, as to the previous writing workflow. The HTML-code is exported from the Writing Kit application onto the iPad’s clipboard and app switched over to the WordPress for iOS application to finish the process. This also includes pasting the HTML-code onto a new post and inputting the metadata. I follow-up with any last adjustments before it’s published to the website.
A brief demonstration of Writing Kit.
To conclude there are many reasons why I chose this application to be my central writing hub for my workflow. Hopefully, the video above provides you with an example. If you’re left looking for more information on Writing Kit or any other iOS writing application, I can’t think of any other place on the web to start your search then here. Let me say this: In comparison to other premium text editors, like Byword on the Mac platform, Writing Kit has performed just as brilliantly and is one of the many applications I believe will showcase the iPad for what this post-PC device truly has become. It’s not only designed for content consumption, but as a serious content creating device.
What do you think of your iPad? Are you using it for blogging? What is your writing workflow? Share your experience below in the comments.
Cheers, Michael
