Why Is note the Ultimate Platform!? Save Your Articles in Markdown!

Introduction

Hello, this is Easygoing.

Today, I want to reflect on why I continue using note.

Note Is Simple!

note is overwhelmingly popular in Japan as a blogging platform, with the following key features:

• A large user base
• Simplicity
• No advertisements

Since note has a massive user base, it offers a wide range of content.

Its design is simple, featuring black text on a white background, making it very easy to read.

Also, except for affiliate links within articles, it has almost no ads, allowing users to focus entirely on the content.

Note Is the Winner

Let’s take a look at the search trends for Japan’s major blogging services using Google Trends.

Google Trends displays search volume on a relative scale, with 100 representing the peak search volume.

Since the 2010s, communication tools have shifted from blogs to social media, leading to a decline in overall blog users.

Despite this trend, note has been growing, making it an exceptional success story among blogging platforms.

Qiita and Zenn Are Also Simple Platforms

Similar to note, there are simple blogging platforms tailored primarily for tech professionals: Qiita and Zenn.

Qiita Top Page

Zenn Top Page

Tech platforms prioritize content quality, resulting in simple, note-like designs.

While note is aimed at creators, its minimalist design is quite similar to those of tech platforms.

Comparing Qiita and Zenn!

Now, let’s compare the rankings of these platforms.

Similarweb ranks websites globally based on monthly unique visitors and page views.

Qiita vs. Note

Zenn vs. Note

As AI-related businesses and other new ventures gain traction, traditional blogging platforms are losing rank.

However, note continues to thrive, demonstrating overwhelming strength.

If you want your articles to reach more readers, note is undoubtedly the most powerful platform.

What Makes Note So Strong?

With note’s continued dominance, what are its key strengths?

Let’s compare the features of note, Qiita, and Zenn.

Like other tech platforms, note uses Markdown format for writing articles.

Previously, note lacked a feature to export articles in Markdown format, but I’ll introduce a solution for that later.

The platform minimizes charting features but compensates with AI-powered proofreading and other tools accessible to a broader audience.

With AI-powered search engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity gaining traction and reducing reliance on ads, the web’s revenue model is shifting towards subscriptions and tipping.

note is ahead of the curve in this regard, ensuring that it will continue to be a winning blog platform in the future.

Markdown is also easy for search engines to process, which is one of the reasons note articles rank high on Google and AI search engines.

Who Owns the Copyright for Note Articles?

Note is currently the most powerful platform for sharing information, but who owns the copyright for the articles we write?

In Japan, any content published online automatically gains copyright the moment it is made public【Source】.

Note's terms of service do not explicitly mention the copyright of user-generated content, but based on past official statements, it is reasonable to assume that the copyright belongs to the creator.

We Don't Own the Articles Themselves!

While we hold the copyright to our articles, we don’t actually own the articles themselves.

All articles we write on note are stored on note’s servers.

At the same time, note's terms of service include the following clause:

Note Terms of Service

14.3
If a user violates these terms of service, the company may partially or entirely suspend their access to the service. In such cases, the company has no obligation to notify the user.

We entrust our copyrighted content to note, but note has the right to block our access at any time.

The Value of an Account Is Relative

The value of an SNS or blog account is relative.

Even if you are writing sincerely, if a malicious third party changes their IP address and reports you 100 times, there is a high chance that your account will be suspended.

If you have done nothing wrong, you can likely recover your account through a proper appeal process, but doing so still requires significant effort.

We write articles on note, but we are not bound to it.

You should take ownership of your own content.

Can You Back Up Note Articles?

So, is it easy to back up note articles?

Note has an export feature on the article list page that allows you to download past articles in bulk.

This feature allows you to export images and other content, but since the core article text contains note-specific formatting, it is difficult to use as a proper backup.

Example of Exported Article

<title><![CDATA[ Adobe Firefly / SDXL / Flux.1 - Looking Back at a Year of AI Image Generation]]></title>
<link>https://note.com/ai_image_journey/n/n712fcded7a0b</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[ Easygoing]]></dc:creator> <guid isPermaLink="false">n712fcded7a0b</guid> <description/>
<content:encoded> <![CDATA[ <figure name="5415cfd9-a32d-4bd6-b72e-09ff45b24c9e">
<img src="/assets/n712fcded7a0b_31f44038807a47877c4eac254f4c5751.png">
<figcaption></figcaption></figure>
<h2 name="b1d294a5-622c-47c6-987d-20ce1ba62e13" id="b1d294a5-622c-47c6-987d-20ce1ba62e13"> Introduction </h2>
<p name="c73caded-b963-41c8-9d8e-13b96c484d53" id="c73caded-b963-41c8-9d8e-13b96c484d53"> Hello, this is Easygoing. </p>
<p name="26404acc-0477-4183-ace1-0a0ed11e9539" id="26404acc-0477-4183-ace1-0a0ed11e9539"> Today, I want to reflect on the past year. </p>

We write note articles in simple, readable Markdown, but the exported backup does not fully preserve these benefits.

Convert note Articles to Markdown!

To solve this, I created a page that converts note articles to Markdown for personal use, and I'd like to introduce it here.

This page is completely free to use, and the Markdown conversion is done automatically, so you don't need to understand Markdown itself.

How to Use the Conversion Page!

Here's how to use the page. The following link connects to my English site.

The interface looks like this: enter the article URL, run the conversion, and Markdown output appears in the lower left, while the right side displays a Markdown preview.

Features

• Supports pages other than note (fully compatible with Qiita and Zenn)
• Real-time preview feature
• If an image lacks alt text, an AI image recognition tool generates captions automatically

Alt text refers to the descriptive text read aloud by screen readers for visually impaired users. If alt text is missing, search engines may rank the page lower.

Once you generate the Markdown file, you can save it on your computer or phone. You can also paste it into note's editor to recreate the article seamlessly!

Using Joplin for Storage is Recommended!

You can save the generated Markdown as a plain text file, but here, I'll introduce a free note-taking app called Joplin.

Joplin was created in 2017 as an open-source alternative after Evernote became a paid service. It allows you to manage multiple text files efficiently.

Joplin's Editing Interface

Joplin is particularly Markdown-friendly. As you enter Markdown text on the left, a live preview appears on the right, allowing you to edit while checking the display.

Joplin saves data locally, so you can store your important articles securely.

Additionally, you can sync backups to the cloud. Installing the Joplin app on your phone lets you write articles on the go.

With this method, you can preserve your articles, and if something happens to note, moving to another platform will be easy!

Summary: Keep Your Articles Backed Up!

• note is the best platform
• Markdown is simple and readable
• Always keep a backup of your articles

Looking back at my past note articles, I feel like I've been carefully documenting my thoughts over time.

When browsing others' note articles, I often see amazing works created with passion by many talented creators.

The time you’ve spent writing on note is invaluable. So why not take this opportunity to keep a backup of your work?

Thank you for reading!