This is the fourth article in the series Online Blogging Platforms series.
Gingko is a different kind of platform from the others I’ve reviewed so far in that it isn’t “just” a text editor. The focus and goal of Gingko’s development seems to be on content and organization of that content. Since I’m normally a disorganized mess, I normally give anything that says it will help me a once over. So, let’s take a look at Gingko.
A Different Writing Experience
I’d be remiss if I didn’t highlight the uniqueness of this writing experience:
- 3 Panes- Ginkgo’s flow is similar to the writing outline we’re all familiar with from 3rd grade to graduate school. Only sideways. On the leftmost column you put your main idea. This could be the title of your blog article or book. In the same block you would write the big ideas surrounding the topic of your article (the first paragraph of this post is in mine). You then move to the middle column where you would break up your main subpoints and break things down even farther. I have a card for each blue heading in my middle column. In the last column, I’ve placed the body of my paragraphs.
- Horizontal Writing Experience- Writing from left to right is something new for me, so it took some time to get used to. I had to watch the tutorial videos a couple times just to make sure I had everything understood before I dove in. It’s helpful to view this experience as a microscope with each panel as a lens with increasing magnification until you zoom in on the small details of your work.
- Keyboard Shortcuts- These seem to be an integral part of the Ginkgo experience. I tend to ignore keyboard shortcuts in programs simply because my blonde brain doesn’t work quick enough to use them. Ginkgo, however, seems to be built with them in mind. Thankfully, they have a shortcut pane glued to the bottom right of the screen as a reference if you ever get lost!
A Few Pros
- A Bird’s Eye View- Being able to keep my main goals right in front of my as I’m developing the finer points of my article is very helpful. I never realized how much I used to scroll up and down on a page just to see what I had written prior. This feature is definitely a time saver and helps maintain focus on pushing great content (something my Editor in Chief likes very much)
- A Calm Environment- There’s a certain amount of zen to Gingko. There aren’t a lot of customization options built in like some of the other platforms I’ve reviewed thus far, but I didn’t find myself needing them. The unique layout and markdown formatting was enough for this experience (something you’ll rarely hear coming from my mouth, er, fingers).
- Mobile Experience- The devs have taken great care to make sure you could access Gingko on mobile devices as well. I was expecting some kind of poorly formatted mess of a mobile site, but on my Nexus 7 and Moto X, it’s a fantastic experience. Scrolling the three columns was super smooth, and all the editing options and shortcuts are available to boot. There’s no offline support like Writer, but the devs know what the people want so there’s rumor of it coming down the road.
Just One Con
The only thing that I could say would discourage someone from using Gingko is the learning curve that is present.
Personally, I didn’t find it hard to grab and go (I actually learned it and wrote this article all in one sitting), but on the surface it does look intimidating. Someone with a super crunched schedule might watch the video and pass on by simply because they don’t want to have to learn a platform in order to get their writing done. I completely understand that point of view, and I’ll admit that because of this point, I wrestled with putting Gingko on the review list, but I will say that I’m very glad I did.
The Wrapup
My final thoughts musings on Gingko are very positive. As someone who is constantly struggling with organizing my life, thoughts, and time, I found this tool helped take the stress out of my writing and helped me become more organized in this area.
The reviews aren’t over yet, but I very well may switch to Gingko as my writing platform of choice. I’ll wait and see until next week’s review though!
So What do you think? Does the learning curve scare you away? Will you give it a shot with your next article? Let us know in the comments below!
Michael Beil says
You checked out Ghost?
Jesse Gruber says
I did a while back.